Slayers Future Perfect
by seeker71
Summary: This story is my first attempt at a really big fanfic, and it kind of came into my head complete. Still needed to write it out, but it was worth it. It's a bit classically themed, maybe a bit predictable, but, for a first effort, I like it...
1. aPrologue

Prologue.  
xxxxxxxxx

The petite young woman slumped forward over the rough hewn table of what was undeniably the cheapest restaurant in town. Cheapest in more ways than one. Beside her were the remains of a modest, no, inadequate, meal. Her long, luxurious red hair flowed down over her back and hung down towards the floor. With one gloved hand she clutched at her still rumbling stomach, and with the other she thumped the table as she wailed "I'm soooo hungry!" All in all she was the picture of misery. She lifted her head and gave her companion a pouty frown with her tear filled ruby red eyes, as if to say "Do something" to him. Across the table, her companion, a tall, blond, well developed specimen of a man who's every move showed the poise and grace of a master of the sword, looked back at the young woman. He said, in a worried voice "But Lina, this is all we can afford for now. Besides, you ate more than I did!"

"Humph!" snorted Lina in reply. "I was hungrier than you were Gourry! Besides, I need to keep my strength up, in case we meet more robbers, bandits, unsavoury wayfarers, rapacious dragons, or any other opportunities to make some cash... HEY! What do you mean by that look?" she snapped at him seeing him suddenly put his hand to the back of his head and smile in a worried sort of way. "Are you implying it's my fault we're broke!"

Gourry smiled for a few seconds then replied, "Errr, well, no, but, uh, it was your Dragon Slaveing the last three villages that ate up our funds to repair the damage... and how were we to know that we'd be so successful that we'd use up all the bad guys? There just aren't any more crooks, crazies, and general all around evil doers in the world for us to deal with anymore, it seems."

Lina let out a sigh and returned her head to the table. "For a jellyfish brain you sure know how to make the truth hurt... oh well, I'll fireball ya later, when I get my strength back, besides, unfortunately, what you say is true, sort of..." She shook her head and sat up slowly. "Let's face it, we're broke. There is so much peace and law abiding goodness that only Amilia could be perfectly happy, and that means that we are out of work. I can't see anyway to make a living like this anymore. There is only one thing left to do, but I dread doing it..." "Beg?" asked Gourry helpfully, and apparently in all seriousness. "Worse" Lina replied, giving him a sharp look. "I'll have to go work for my sister Luna..." As she spoke Lina shuddered and turned a rather strange shade of blue...

She went on, with a sigh "What can I say? While I was out getting my magical act together she was busy waitressing. Who knew her design was to work her way up from the bottom to own a successful chain of restaurants? I just hope she doesn't beat me with that stick like she used to. Errrr, he, he, not that I didn't give her reason, he, he, oh boy." She glanced to one side and made a worried face, as she went on "Man, that stick really frightens me, but, what am I going to do? Starve? Sigh... How about you Gourry? For once in your life, do you have any bright ideas?"

Gourry paused for a second then responded "Uh, well, I suppose if there was a nice war somewhere I could sign up... Uh, but listen Lina, I, well, uh, I can wash dishes you know... Uh, well, the truth is, umm, I was hoping we could stick together..." Lina shrugged and gave him a look that said "Up to you...", then closed her eyes as Gourry went on."Uh, actually Lina, uh, ohhh, the timings all wrong, er, but then, it's always wrong..., but, but, I want us to be together always Lina. Please Lina, I know I've asked before, but you never have given me a definite answer. Lina, I love you, will you marry me?"

Lina opened her eyes slowly and she gave Gourry a long look. Deciding, with a tiny smile, not to fireball him this time she finally said, with an exaggerated sigh "Well, that's all well and fine, Gourry, but, let's face it, unless we get established it's going to be pretty hard... I can see it now, we are poor, but allegedly happy, ha, ha, yeah, right... there is a war, you go off to make our fortune, and get killed, leaving me at home with the babies and an endless stack of dirty dishes, and under my sister's control!" With that she laughed. And not that pleasantly either...

Suddenly her stomach rumbled, putting an end to her mirth. "I'm sorry Gourry," she said after a minute, "but the truth is that I just can't think tonight for hunger. I'm going to bed now, we'll talk in the morning, okay? Goodnight!" With that she got up and slumped upstairs to her bed. Gourry stayed downstairs for a long time, thinking, thinking more deeply that perhaps he had in his life, and boy, was it tough. Finally he went over to the counter, paid up, and went to his room as well. 


	2. bChapter1

Chapter 1.  
xxxxxxxxxx

Early in the morning, as the darkness deepened before the dawn Lina Inverse started to dream. In her dream she saw herself by a sink, chained to it, with a seemingly endless line of waitresses, all of whom looked amazingly like her sister, right down to, and including the big STICK they all held! As fast as she washed Lina just couldn't keep up. The waitresses were annoyed with her and threatened her with their sticks as she washed faster and faster. Then she noticed that as each plate became clean she could see... Gourry's face! No doubt about it, it was like each piece of china in her sister's restaurant was decorated with the smiling blonde visage of Gourry Gabriev... Now the waitresses began to laugh at her with a mocking laugh. Lina washed as hard as she could, but still couldn't keep up. Suddenly she found herself almost buried in the dishes, and was about to suffocate..., when she woke up, gasping for breath! So, it had all been a dream after all! Phew, thank goodness. As her breath returned to normal and her heart slowed down she began to wonder what that was all about. Then her stomach rumbled, and she let out a little laugh and said, "Hunger".

She got up and went over to the night stand to get a drink of water. As she slowly sipped the drink she sat at the table and looked into the mirror at her sleep tousled form. "So, girl, what WAS that about?" she asked the moonlit, frumpy reflection. "Let's see, you were washing dishes for your sister, and she was bossing you around in the form of an endless stream of waitresses, and Gourry... wasn't there, and, and..., you missed him, didn't you?" She had to glance down for a minute, and then slowly she raised her sight back to the mirror in order to look herself in the eye. Slowly she smiled at her self and asked "Lina, it's time, no more fears, what do you really feel for Gourry?"

Mirror Lina looked away for a minute and a tender look came on her face. She returned her gaze to Lina and smiled a big warm smile. "I thought so..." said Lina. "And how long have you loved him?" Mirror Lina looked thoughtful and got a far away gaze on her face as she thought back over all the adventures they had had together. Finally she arrived at the time she first met him. She had just knocked off a bandit gang and was being attacked by the remnants, bent on revenge. She had been about to remind the crooks why she, Lina Inverse, was the world's most extraordinary sorceress, and how she had earned, at fifteen and a half, the fearsome title of Bandit Slayer, when who should step in to save what he thought was a damsel in distress, but the wandering mercenary Gourry! For a moment she had been ticked that he had stolen her spotlight, but then something caused her to change her mind and accept that he was helping her. She really had no idea what it was at the time, or why she had been willing to have him at her side from then on, in spite of reality's best efforts to insert numerous checks, not to mention wake up calls, oh, and the endless stream of coffee pots begging to be smelled, along the way. As she stared in the mirror on this night however, she finally was capable of being honest with herself. It had been love at first sight.

"Oh Lina, for all your brains, at heart you're such a romantic fool!" she smiled at herself with a sigh. "But, why have you been so afraid to love?" she asked herself in the mirror. Now she thought back over her life, the growing up in poverty, the way she always felt that she was second best compared to her sister... a tear rolled down from her eye. "Second best..." she whispered. After all she had been through... All she had done... She looked at herself in the mirror again and, with tears in her eyes she asked "Lina, tell the truth, do you love yourself?"

Mirror Lina seemed uncertain. It is sometimes a terrible thing to face the truth about yourself alone in the dark of night. Sometimes it is needful to do so. She thought back over her life, the good times and the bad, the angry times and the fearful times, the times she was alone, and the times she had people around her. As she did a smile slowly came across her face, and she realised the truth. Yes! She did love herself, for Lina Inverse was worth loving! But, it was tough to do, even for Lina Inverse. How much more wonderful it was, then, that Gourry was willing and able to do that too. "You can be a real fool sometimes Lina" she said to herself. "You will go and tell him the answer is "YES"! He has his faults, so do you, but it is obvious you love him despite, or even because, of them, and he feels the same way about you. That kind of love is just too valuable to go through life without. Go get it girl!"

Then she yawned, and yawned, and yawned. "I'm still so tired" she thought. "Well, back to bed girl. You can give Gourry the good news in the morning! It won't hurt him to wait just a bit longer!" With that she beamed a big, happy smile to herself and went back to bed. Let the dream come back, she knew how it would go this time. No matter how many dishes were brought she would be washing them with Gourry! And they would keep up! And the waitresses might be disappointed, but too bad, with Gourry beside her they'd never dare raise the stick to her, and she would be so happy..."

Lina awoke the next morning in a better frame of mind. She stretched, yawned, and bounced out of bed, hungry, but rested and ready for the day. Washing quickly, and brushing out her hair she changed into her day clothes and packed. They were leaving today, and she was going home to her village of Zefielia. What's more, for better or worse, Gourry would be going with her! That thought actually made her happy! She admitted to herself that at 21 she was finally getting ready to give up the "innocent little me" act and think about things like a husband, kids, and the rest of that. And as men went, well, what did other men have that Gourry didn't? Brains? Well, yeah, but heck she had enough for both of them as far as that went. "The thing about Gourry that's really important" she though to herself as she continued brushing her hair, "is that his heart is so big, it filled him up and didn't leave room for his poor brain to grow out normally, he, he, he..."

She now regretted her snapping at his proposal last night, but, ah well, she'd make it up to him this morning! Yup, a quick peck on the cheek, that ought to alert him that something unusual was about to happen, then a casual "Oh by the way, Gourry, the answer to your question of last night is YES!" And then? She giggled, anticipating the stunned look he'd have on his face, then, when it sunk in what she'd said, well, she was sure he'd have every emotion going fighting for control on his face until Joy finally won out! After all, it wasn't just any one who was worthy of the great and beautiful, world famous sorceress Lina Inverse! Hmmmm, soon to be Lina Gabriev? Hmmmm, better think about keeping her own name professionally. Oh well, she was ready, time to go!

She trotted out happily to the hall and knocked on Gourry's room. "Hey sleepyhead!" she sang out happily, "time to get up and buy me breakfast!" She tried not to giggle too loudly. She waited a minute. Funny, Gourry usually didn't take that long to answer... She gave the doorknob a twist and looked in. "Well, that figures..." she said, seeing the empty room. "Leave it to jellyfish to get up before me, hey, I don't care if the answer is "yes", he better have left me some breakfast!" She trounced down the stairs still smiling, looking around for Gourry. After a few perplexing minutes she realised he wasn't in the restaurant either. "Where the hell...?" she muttered to herself. She went over to the counter and asked the clerk where Gourry might be. After searching the records the man announced "Oh yes... He checked out last night." "WHAT?" shrieked Lina, incredulously. "Please Miss!" said the owner, cringing slightly, "here's the record, see, he paid in full for both your rooms, and the meal tab, so the debt is cleared, and then he left, around about midnight. Say, is your name Lina?" the man went on. "WHAT?" shrieked Lina again, then she realised the man had asked her a question. "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm Lina." "Here" said the man, handing her a letter. "He left a note for you..."

Lina took the note and reeled to the nearest table and sat down. What on earth was Gourry doing? He knew he couldn't make it without her. Where had he gone? The thoughts kept swirling around in her mind as she stared at the unopened note. Finally her thoughts were interrupted by a sprite young voice. It was the waitress asking if she could get something for Lina. Shaking herself out of the mood she smiled weakly at the young girl and said "Uh, just a cup of tea, please." The girl smiled prettily and bounced off to fulfill her request. Lina took a deep breath and opened the note. At first she couldn't believe what she was reading. Nor at the second or third reading. In fact, it took five or six readings until she accepted that Gourry meant what he wrote. "MEN!" she shouted, slamming her fist on the table, startling the poor waitress returning with her tea. "Oh, ha, ha, ha... I'm sorry! she said, putting her hand behind her head and giggling nervously. "Word of advice, never trust a man to get something you haven't spelled out for him." "Uh, yes, Miss, what e-ever you say..." stuttered the surprised girl as she dropped a curtsy and beat a hurried retreat. Lina sighed and said "Get a grip, girl" to herself as she sipped her tea. She put the cup down and read Gourry's note one more time.

"Lina:

I thought about what you said last night, and you are right, I can't offer you a future, just failure. I promised once that I'd protect you always, now I see you need protection from me, so, I'm going. Please don't miss me. It will make it easier for me to remember you the way you are, smiling, happy, full of confidence in yourself. I'm sorry Lina, I looked into your beautiful eyes and saw the sun shining out of them, and dreamed I could soar into the light, but it's something I did to myself, so I will live with it. I wish you every success with your sister, and beyond.

I love you, Lina:

Gourry"

There was even what looked like a tear stain on the letter.

Lina slowly folded the letter and put it away. She automatically sipped her tea without really tasting it. Finally she got up and paid for her tea, then, getting her bundle of clothes, she left, still in a daze. Standing in the street she looked north, then south, trying to decide which way a TWIT! of a jellyfish like Gourry would have gone. Well let's see, north was the way they were going, to Zefielia, to the south lay the highway to Seirune. Now let's see, Gourry would expect her to go north, so, he must have gone south. Who knows, maybe he'd ask Amelia for some sort of work. What to do? Should she just go home and write to her friend? Or should she chase after him and try to catch him? Suddenly she remembered what the man in the bar said and smacked herself upside the head. "He paid the tab!" she said to herself. "He has absolutely no money left!" That decided it, south it was. Feeling a strange sense of relief at not having to face her sister, just yet, she turned and started the long journey.

It was a league to the highway and it seemed to take forever, even though it was really about an hour's walk. As she trudged along Lina kept going over the events of her life with Gourry and the words in his letter. Something seemed to be building up in her, but she didn't know what it was, until she got to the cross roads where her path joined with the highway. There she found herself, to her own surprise, sitting with her back against a tree, head buried in her arms, which were resting on her drawn up knees, a short distance from the road, unable to go on. Mostly because the damned tears wouldn't stop. Finally, she cried herself out and got shakily to her feet. "Damn you Gourry!" she yelled between her sniffles. "How dare you make Lina Inverse cry! You're going to get such a fireballing after I find..." She stopped and took a deep, sniffley breath, then said "Hold it girl, just for once in your otherwise perfect life. This one you brought on yourself, he really thinks he's doing what you want, and this time you didn't give him a reason to think otherwise... No Gourry, you won't get a fireball, for once you'll get something I hope you'll find much more wonderful, me!" With that she took one more deep breath and started forward again, feeling strangely tired and full of energy at the same time. She didn't even seem to notice she hadn't eaten yet. Feet to the highway she marched along to Seirune. 


	3. cChapter2

Chapter 2 xxxxxxxxx

It was late in the afternoon when Lina crossed the border. She was rather cross herself, there hadn't been any place to eat along the way, and now she WAS hungry. Worse, there hadn't been any bandits, so, there had been no way to increase her meagre cash supply, let alone work out her inner emotional turmoil. Oh well, she figured she would find a place to eat soon, it would probably cost her the last of her money, but then she'd trudge on into Seirune proper during the night, find Gourry, and worry about what came next when she came to it. Heck, once there, she might even see if she could beg travelling expenses from Amelia, just to have an excuse to see her again. It had been years after all.

"I wonder how she is?" she thought, trying to keep her mind off her stomach. "I wonder how Zel is doing too? They seemed real close last time I saw them, he, he,... oh..." she sighed, as remembering the growing love that had been between her friends reminded her of Gourry. Shaking her head sadly she rounded a bend in the road and saw a small village with a public house by the road. "This'll do" she thought, as she walked in.

Inside was the usual rough, smoky sort of interior one expected with these sorts of "establishments". There was even the ever present group of locals deep in their mugs. Most eyes her with curiosity, some hid their eyes as she made contact, others gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. In the back a few of the local hot bloods eyed her up and down, sizing up their prospects. Ah well, she'd probably have trouble with some of them later. Good! She had vented her tears, but she still needed to work off her anger. Let them come. Might even make the cost of her meal back as a penalty for picking on an innocent little virgin. Ah well, stuff like that didn't happen when she had Gourry... sigh... Gourry...

On the other hand it happened all the time when she had hung around with that weirdo Naga. Naga! Ha! Now that was someone she hadn't thought about for a long time. At times they had been so close as traveling companions that some people must have thought they were lovers, or worse, friends. At other times Naga would just disappear for days or weeks without a word and just as Lina was getting her hopes up, she'd show up again! Well, well. She kind of wondered where good old "Goldfish Feces" had gotten herself off to. Rumour had it that she had gone north, then east, and disappeared, when the magical barrier which the Mazoku had clamped over the western lands where Lina lived had been broken after she had destroyed the important demon lord Hellmaster Phibrizzo.

She had done this by taking the ultimate being, the Lord of Nightmares, into herself as she cast the dread spell Giga Slave. She never could remember how she got out of it, the Golden Lord had taken her over completely. She remembered casting the spell, then she remembered snapping back into reality standing on top of a stone lintel, with, with, Gourry kissing her on the lips? Or atleast he was hugging her like they had just kissed. Of course she had immediately decked him, and perhaps rightly so, but she always wondered what happened. According to the others, after Hellmaster was destroyed the Lord of Nightmares has sucked Lina into some sort of vortex or something, and before it closed Gourry had jumped in after her, calling desperately for her to wake up. Sigh... their first kiss...

Lina shook herself out of her reverie as the somewhat grubby owner of the pub came over, smiling and bobbing, and asked what she wanted. Lina stated she was hungry and asked about the food. It was basic fare, but the prices weren't too bad, and she ended up with a meal she knew wasn't going to be enough, but which would be okay. As she ate she continued in her train of thought about Naga. Now truth to tell, there had been something compelling about her, some sort of hidden story, after all no one got that weird without a reason. Despite her earlier snippy comments Lina had to admit that they had a sort of friendship, although what sort Lina hadn't figured out. Strange girl. Oh well, maybe some day she'd know what drove Naga at age nineteen to pick on Lina who was only thirteen at the time and just finishing up her magical training. Somehow she had heard Lina was the greatest sorceress on the face of the planet, which she was, of course, he, he, he, and had taken the simple truth as a personal affront. Then had followed about two years of the most intense, most weird relationship Lina had ever had with another human being. Heck the stuff with Gourry was laid back by comparison. Naga would be there, then she'd go away for awhile, and then she'd be back. Then, there was "that" night, when they broke up, well, when Lina had just left. Poor Naga, she never even got told why, well, maybe some day Lina could tell her, oh well.

After that, Lina had travelled by herself for a while, then hooked up with Gourry, Zel, and finally Amilia, she had only seen Naga once more, the time Lina had helped that green haired elf kid called Lark and stopped the resurrection of Shabradnigdo, with Naga's help, if you could call it that. Naga had seemed uptight or something, but you really had to know her to see it. Then, when the adventure was over, she was just gone and Lina had never seen her again.

Lina was sitting, lost in thought, when she was interrupted by one of the local Lothario's. "Say, little lady!" "Ahh, the patronizing sort, ought to be good fun..." Lina thought. Putting on her most innocent and virginal smile she batted her eyes as she responded "Oh my! You mean me?" in her best "I'm shy" fashion. Actually the guy was kind of handsome in a rugged sort of way. If he'd only stick with the local ladies he'd be quite a catch, and doubtlessly his wife would spare no pains to make sure he knew that, especially as there would be plenty of other local fish who would if she didn't. Of course that all depended on whether he survived this encounter...

"You don't mean to tell me you are travelling the road all by yourself do you?" he said. "Don't you know it's dangerous?" "Dangerous?" asked Lina all wide eyes and with a hint of... fear? Or perhaps that was amusement? "Why what ever to you mean? I heard that the famous sorceress, Lina Inverse, had cleared all the bad people away that used to prey on travellers? Oh, I'm not in danger here am I?" she said in a worried voice as she covered her mouth with her hands, more to stop herself from laughing, but it gave the right impression of a naive, fearful little girl in a woman's body. "Well, you might be, young lady but you are in luck! Lina Inverse is an overrated, underdeveloped, sorceress of questionable character. She may have cleared away a few of the bandits that roam the roads, but her biggest success was in marketing herself as the hero when in fact it was guys like me, Floater, that were busy doing the hard work of clearing away the rest of them!" As Floater spoke he struck a ridiculous pose that was probably meant to be dramatic and puffed his vanity up even further. He went on "If it hadn't been for hardworking self sacrificing guys like me, there is no way the roads would be safe now, Lina Inverse or not! Now, you look like you are on your way somewhere, I happen to be free right now and I would be more than willing to help you reach your destination safely."

Her hand twitching, Lina hesitated on whether to fireball the clod now, or wait till he was alone with her on some lonely stretch of road, where no one could here you scream! Interesting he hadn't mentioned the usual reward... hmmmm... must be after more than the money. She was soooo going to enjoy this...

"Ummm, ummmm, I, I thank you for the offer kind sir, I am in truth but a poor girl who has to get to Seirune, and if there are evil doers on the roads still, oh, what shall I do?" "Well" said Floater in a rather oily voice "I guess there is only one way for you to be sure of your safety. I shall go with you!" "Oh my, Mr. Floater!" said Lina "So heroic and gentlemanly of you! Um, but, I, I am a poor girl. I was thinking there was no worse a foe on the road than hunger, and I have spent the last of my money here to get a meal to last me to Seirune! Oh, what ever shall I do to repay you?" Lina appeared to be on the verge of tears with fear and worry. Floater's look made it quite clear what he would accept as payment. "Don't worry my pretty little lady!" he said smoothly. "We will work something out. So it is decided! Floater will see you safe to your destination. What's your name, pretty?"

Lina thought quickly to come up with a good name, but quick as she was, a quiet voice, yet one filled with inner power, which could not be ignored answered faster. "Inverse" it said. "Lina Inverse. And I should leave you to your fate, rogue, only this inn has a historical importance to Seirune, despite it's shabby appearance, and is therefore rather worth saving from the wrath of the fireball..." Lina and Floater both turned towards the voice. It belonged to a tall, young looking man dressed in the livery of the Royal House of Seirune. It was a handsome uniform really, but it tended to get overshadowed by the one who wore it. It wasn't that he wasn't handsome or anything, it's just that his blue skin was a bit of a shock at the best of times, as were the stones in his flesh, and the hair that was as stiff as wire...

"Lo, lo, lor, lord" started the rapidly sinking Floater. "Zelgadiss!" finished Lina more forcefully, rising to greet her friend. "Of all the places I never would have thought to find you..." "Happy to see you again too Lina" said Zel, with a smile, stepping out of the shadows towards the table. "L, Li, Lin, Lina?" started Floater again, by this time nearly on the floor. "Inverse" finished Zelgadiss as he reached down and unceremoniously pulled the rather deflated "hero" out by his hair and held him up while shouting to the bar tender "Bar Keep! A flagon of your best wine! And as much of whatever food the young lady here wishes to eat! And the bill will be paid courtesy of our loudmouthed friend here, who will pay, for if he doesn't I will personally see he ends up before Prince Phillionel himself to explain why!" "Aye your Lordship!" was the scurrying reply. Zelgadiss unceremoniously dropped the rogue off, giving him a kick with his rock hard boot. "Th-thank you my Lord" groaned Floater, who scuttled away as fast and as quietly as he could.

Zel sat down with Lina and waited for the food and drink to arrive, which it did in short order. Lina looked at Zel and said "Well, um Zel! Thanks, I guess... So what brings you here?" Zel smiled and replied "Apparently, saving ancient historical buildings from the ravages of Lina Inverse." Then he became a little more serious. "In truth, I am on a mission for Prince Phil, and my horse threw a shoe, so, here I am as I await the repairs... and just in time it seems. So, what of yourself? What are you doing? I hear you have made quite the name for yourself putting the run on the riff raft of the highways." "Oh well", said Lina "Yeah.. that. Um, oh well, it's true, but, alas, so are the stories about the disastrous effects of the dragon slave on villages. Er, do you know that they actually think they should be compensated for having their villages blown up?" she went on, with a nervous giggle. "So, at the end of the day you are broke is what you are saying..." said Zel sipping the wine that had arrived. "Ahh, Lina, why doesn't that surprise me?" he chuckled quietly. "But where is Gourry? Is he up to something? It isn't like him to leave you to rogues like "Sinker" there." Lina blanched, then replied, with a sadder tone, "Uh, yeahhh, that's another story, Zel..."

She then told him how she had laughed once too much and he had left, probably thinking that she never wanted to see him again. "The truth is, Zel, I finally have come to my senses, and am ready and willing, believe it or not to, to, to say "Yes!", and now, I can't..." she concluded with a tear in her eye and a catch in her voice. Zel reached over the table and took Lina's hand. Looking her in the eyes he gently said "So, that's why you are here, you want to find him... Well, Lina, I can do this much help right away. If you are going to Seirune city, you can ride with me, it will be a bit quicker, and less tiring. And if I can find any men to sweep the city it will be done." Lina looked up in surprise. "I am grateful for the ride Zel, but why would everyone be busy? What's up?" Zel shook his blue head and said "Not here Lina, sorry" Lina nodded that she understood, then changed the subject. "So, are you Prince Phil's son-in-law yet?

Of all the questions she could have asked, that was perhaps the one Zel was least expecting. He gave a little squawk of surprise. He stared at her for a second, then a slow, bittersweet sort of smile covered his face. He gave his head a shake meaning no. "Errr, sorry," said Lina hesitantly, "I, uh, did I strike a nerve there? You two seemed such an item last time I saw you is all..."

She was so sincere that Zelgadiss chuckled in spite of himself. "Well, that's a tale in itself Lina," he replied. "Here's the short version. Yes, we are in love, and yes, we finally stopped playing games and admitted it to each other. The problem at first was my feelings about this cursed body I have. I have not given up hope for a cure, someday, but to be honest it is looking less likely all the time. I had to reach the point where I was willing to give up the endless seeking for the counter spell, and get on with the other things in life, like living like a human being, even if I didn't look like one. And for whatever wonderful reason, Amelia was able to see the me inside this blue body and, well, there you are. Love. About a year ago I decided enough was enough and began to settle down here in Seirune finally. We became really close, and started to make plans. Big plans. Too big..." Zelgadiss took a deep breath and slowly let it out with a sad look on his face.

He then went on. "About three months ago Prince Phil, who I am sure had to know what was going on, decided it was time to intervene. He was diplomatic about it, he never confronted us directly or anything, just one night at dinner he began to "discuss" the laws of the succession, and the need for Amelia to bear a child at some point so that there would be a successor after her, the way she was his successor. At first it seemed like he was encouraging us, but then the conversation took a turn for the worst. He recounted his troubles, and those of his family, the loss of his wife in an assassination plot and the subsequent loss of his eldest daughter, who was too distraught over the death of her mother to resume her duties as heiress apparent to the throne of Seirune. He went on about the importance of the heir being someone who was acceptable to all parties and reminded us of his battles to secure his throne against usurpers." "Yeah" said Lina, "we had a hand in some of that." "Yes, so you know what I mean." replied Zel, who then went on "Amelia and I talked about it later, and we agreed, he was trying to tell us something. We hadn't really thought seriously about the idea of our children, and yes, we wanted children, so we began to do our research, and it wasn't long or hard before we realised the hidden meanings to his words. In a nutshell, if our babies were even suspected of being chimeras they would likely not inherit, and if we tried to make it otherwise, Amelia could be deposed, or worse..."

Here Zel paused for awhile and Lina just stared down at the table, aghast at his tale. Finally she said "So, because there is a chance that your babies might not be purely human, you can't get married... Oh Zel, I am so sorry for you two." She looked up at her long time friend with sorrow in her eyes, only to find him smiling back. "I am living proof you must be careful what you wish for Lina, because you might just get it." he said to her. "Well, the rest of the tale is simple. I don't know what to do about getting cured, but I wanted to keep looking, so I was able to get a diplomatic position in the court. In other words I get sent out a lot to do odd jobs in the diplomatic core. It helps a bit, I get to go places and look in my spare time. And it gets me away from Amelia, which means I get to alter the pain of being away with the pain of being there. Variety, you know. Oh well, such seems to be my lot in life..."

Here he grew silent again and a troubled look crossed his face. "Listen Lina," he went on, eventually, " We are getting to the point where I can't really say anything for now. So, I'll take this up later, okay? How's your meal coming?" Lina looked down. It seems that despite Zel's tale she had managed to eat a fairly good meal. Not as large as she had been able to when she was in her stride of course, or was it Zel's tale? Anyway, she realised she just wasn't hungry anymore. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm done, actually" she said. Zel put down his glass of wine. "Me too..." They stared at each other, not quite sure what to say. Just then the door opened and the local farrier came in and bowed, saying "Lord Zelgadiss, your horse is outside. I have repaired the shoe as best I could, but the hoof was cracked. I recommend that the horse not be ridden above a walk from here to Seirune City, and then let one of the royal horsemen look at it." Zel nodded and gave the man several coins in payment. With a bow the man left. Zel stood up and said simply "Time to go. You coming?"

Lina bounced up and said "You bet!" Zel smiled and offered her his arm. "OOOh, aren't you the gentleman!" teased Lina. Zel laughed and escorted her out. He didn't forget to turn at the door and remind the inn keeper of who was paying the tab, and invite the other patrons to consume the rest of the flagon of wine in honour of the visit of the world famous Lina Inverse to their establishment. Lina laughed at this and went outside, followed by Zel. Soon they were seated on his horse and riding along the road to the city. "Well, this beats walking!" Lina said brightly. In a short while they were out of the town and on the road alone.

Zel looked around and was satisfied they weren't being followed. "Okay, here's the rest of the story Lina" he said. "About a month ago we started to get reports that a kingdom in the east was gearing up in a big hurry for what looked like a major war footing. They had apparently hired a very powerful sorceress said to be well skilled in the black arts. It also seemed like a big call had gone out for mercenaries and any other adventurers at arms who sought employment, and from all over the western lands the call was being heeded. I was sent to investigate.

As you know, it was a big shock to us to discover our maps were all wrong, that the world we thought we knew didn't exist, that what we thought we knew was because we were inside the Mazoku shield which imprisoned us." "Yeah, like I could forget" replied Lina. "Of course breaking out was dead simple, all I had to do was Giga Slave that creepy Hellmaster Phibrizzo, almost destroy the planet, almost lose myself forever to the Golden Lord, if it hadn't been for Gou... oh..." "Yes, I know Lina" said Zelgadiss gently. "Then we got caught up with Filia and went south to fight Dark Star. But we never went east. I have now been east, well, a bit."

"To the east, instead of a shore and endless ocean, which was an illusion of the Mazoku, there is a range of ragged mountains which once marked the border of the Mazoku shield. The interesting thing is that there is only one narrow high gap that will let any one pass the mountains, the rest is too rugged. Beyond that is a long narrow valley running roughly north to south. It is maybe a hundred miles across at the widest point, but it is many hundred miles long, bordered by another mountain range that opens to the east through only one pass as well, but a wider, gentler and lower pass. There is a vast continent beyond that range Lina. It is amazing, this world is so big!

Anyway, the valley was settled by people like us before the Mazoku imposed their shield, and a large, rich, but very disciplined and militaristic kingdom has grown up in the region. It's name is Westhold, so called because, until the shield was lifted, they were the westernmost part of this part of the continent that outsiders could reach. To their east were peoples and countries that were totally different from them in every way. And they have been at war on and off for a long time, which explains the militaristic nature of their culture. But lately there has been peace, deep and profound. Prince Phil fears that they have grown restless and are willing to try their hand at conquest to their west, which is of course, us. Now you know why I was sent.

I met with them, and for some reason the king seemed interested in the fact I had come from Seirune, seems he has heard of us, maybe the justice philosophy of our culture has impressed him, I can only hope. Anyway, he says he wants to send a very special ambassador to discuss our concerns with us and asks for Prince Phil to formally accept the offer, and as a sign of trust he says we are to send two people, me, and one other of the Prince's choosing, to accompany the ambassador back. Of course I told him we were more than able to raise a small honour guard, or even a big real guard to accompany such an honoured person back to Seirune, but he was very insistent that it be me and one other only. So I go to make the arrangements. Say, if we don't find Gourry in Seirune, it is possible he took up being a mercenary again and went east, would you like to come? "Hmmm," replied Lina, "even if we do find bait-for-brains, I might come, this sorceress intrigues me if nothing else, and damned if I want a war to spoil my happiness with Gourry when we're just getting started!" "Ha, well, thanks then Lina, it would be interesting to travel with you again!" was Zel's happy response.

They rode on, discussing this, that, and everything else, reliving old adventures and getting caught up. Soon enough they were in Seirune city proper. Lina looked out over the city keenly, hoping to spot Gourry somewhere in the crowd, but it wasn't to be. By this time Zel had dismounted, which gave her a clear view of the crowds too. They reached the palace and, with a snappy salute, the doors were flung open for the Lord Zelgadiss! Leaving the horse at the stables with instructions about the hoof he took Lina into the castle and went to make his report.

They were walking into the private room where Prince Phil was when suddenly a happy squeal erupted and a pretty black-haired young woman suddenly landed on Zelgadiss giving him a big hug! "OOOFFF!" was Zel's immediate response followed by "Hi Amelia!" for that was precisely who it was that had glommed onto the blue chimera. "Err, Amelia, look!" he said pointing to Lina. Amelia's already happy eyes brightened even more as she turned and saw "LINA! Lina, Lina, Lina!" There was nothing for it but to endure a big hug as well, which Lina did with as much grace as she could muster. As the two girls got reacquainted Prince Phil rose, and, after giving Lina a somewhat more dignified greeting, welcomed Zelgadiss back and bade him deliver his report. Which Zel did. 


	4. dChapter3

Chapter 3 xxxxxxxxx

"How odd." was Prince Phil's first comment after hearing the report. "Yes, my thoughts too" replied Zel. "But, as I said the whole thing was odd. I had to wait at the border till the guards sent word to the palace, then an "honour guard" that whisked me to the palace came to get me, and an immediate meeting with King Alfred. He was very friendly, but also very to the point. Then, by the end of the day, I was back on my way to the border again. I really didn't have a chance to talk to anyone, or see very much, which may have been the idea, but I did gather some tidbits.

He was only recently married and has just had a son born to him, the heir apparent. Some people say his queen is the evil sorceress that was hired by the kingdom to help with the wars, that she has bewitched the king and he is her slave. They say she disguises her self as a beautiful woman, but her laugh is wicked and reveals her true soul. Some say they are two different people and that the queen is kind and loving, a very gentle soul and a loving wife and mother. I don't know, but I guess we had better keep an eye on the possibility of trouble there. I was never introduced to either of the two women, so I can't make a personal judgement, I'm afraid. If you are agreeable to the meeting with the ambassador, then I request you let me take Lina here as the other, I think she can handle just about any sorceress we would run into." "What do you mean, "just about"" said Lina with an insulted air. Zel, gave a nervous laugh and said "Errr, uh, sorry, I meant ANY sorceress, that just came out wrong..."

"Hmmm" thought Phil, "so, we could be dealing with a weak-minded man who is prisoner to an evil, power hungry witch, or he might just be wanting to take over on his own... Oh well, I rather expect it will just be some sort of ultimatum, but I suppose we had better at least buy time and send for the ambassador." He thought for a few more minutes then added "Yes, go and get him Zelgadiss, and if Lina is the one you want, take her."

"WHOO-HOO! Great!" shouted Lina happily. "So, Prince Phil, what's the pay like for this adventure?" "What?" said Phil, rather disgruntled, then added "You never change do you?" "Not in some things!" agreed Lina brightly. "Now then," she went on, "a long trip like this, involving body guard work AND spying, and perhaps unforeseen dangers... I think a good price would be... A MILLION GOLD!" she concluded happily. "NONSENSE!" roared back Prince Phil. "I can get many first rate sorcerers for less than a tenth of that!" "Not ones like Lina Inverse!" retorted Lina. "Okay, okay, because it's you I'll go as high as one tenth of your figure!" was Phil's reply to that. "A hundred thousand gold? HA! I can make that and tips working for my sister!" said Lina with the look, and tone, of one who catches a shady salesman trying to pass off low quality goods as treasures.

"ummm, Daddy? Miss Lina?" said a tentative Amilia, trying to prevent a fight. "Oh don't worry about it, love," responded Zel softly, as he shyly put an arm around her shoulder. "I don't think either of them have had this much fun in a long time..." "Uh, I guess you're right." said Amilia, sinking into Zel and holding the hand around her shoulder with one of her own.

Eventually the haggling wore down and both sides ended up with a figure that had them convinced they had each gotten the better of the other, even though to hear them tell about it you'd think they had been bested by highway robbers or something. "So, when do we set off?" asked Lina, getting down to business, now that the serious stuff was over. "I suggest we go tomorrow at first light." replied Zelgadiss. Amilia gave him a pouty look but said nothing, he was right, of course.

"But, but that won't give me any time to look for Gourry!" said a suddenly sad Lina. "Well, we need to do this as soon as possible." replied Zel. "What's wrong with Gourry?" asked Amilia. Lina looked downcast as she quickly explained about her big mouth and Gourry's big question. Amilia shook her head in amazement, but Prince Phil spoke up and said "It is tragic to lose a loved one, under any circumstances, believe me I know, twice over. Which reminds me Zelgadiss, don't forget to look for the Princess will you?" Zel bowed and said, "No Sir, I most certainly will not."

"Huh?" said Lina "It's my big sister, Gracia," replied Amilia. "She has gone missing." "Well, but she did that how many years ago? And you still haven't found her?" asked a puzzled Lina. "Er, well it isn't quite like that actually" replied Amilia. "She left the court many years ago, after our... mother died..." "Let me explain, honey." said Phil softly. "My daughter Gracia was witness to the death of her mother, and it left her in a state of shock. She became despondent and depressed, at times she became manic, she took to drinking and studying only black magic, and gave up any desire to inherit the throne. Eventually I gave in to her desires and let her go forth and wander the earth to seek for the comfort I couldn't give her. For a long time she actually kept us informed with a rather sporadic correspondence of her whereabouts and her doings, but about three years ago she fell silent, and try as we might, we cannot find her. I am sick with worry, to tell you the truth, I fear the worst. If anyone could find her, even just give me word she is alright..." He shook his head sadly as he finished his tale.

"Gee, and I thought I was hard done by." said Lina with sympathy in her voice. "Prince Phil, if we can find her we will! And because it's you, no extra charge!" she went on, making a joke. Prince Phil actually laughed and then stood up and bowed to Lina. "Well, words I never thought I'd hear from the lips of Lina Inverse! Thank you Lina for that. Rest assured, I value my daughter very much, if ever you found her you could ask what you wanted and I'd probably give it." "No, I stand by my word." smiled Lina back. "Some things, like family, are too important to sully with money."

"Umm, Lina" said Amilia, "I can have our men look for Gourry here in Seirune while you are away, and if you like I'll have him thrown in the dungeon until you get back, so he will be here for you on your return..." Lina laughed and laughed at that. Finally she said "Okay, but make it a nice cell, I don't want him sick with consumption or something when I return, it makes the whole exercise pointless. Hey! I have an idea, maybe don't tell him what he's in jail for, have a bit of fun with him for putting me through this?" she went on with a devilish glint in her eye. "Te, he, he..." replied Amilia, "now that wouldn't be very just, of course, but it might be fun... Maybe just this once?" she concluded with a devilish glint of her own. Zelgadiss simply shook his head and thought "Poor Gourry, we better make this a quick trip." "Well," he said interrupting the sinister merriment, "If it's an early start, then it's early to bed I'm afraid." With that, the party broke up quickly and Lina went off to a long hot soak and a good night's rest, and the dawning of the next day.

Lina was awakened by a servant girl the next morning, far too early. And she made it quite apparent it was far too early. The poor girl cringed and pleaded that she was only following Lord Zelgadiss' orders. Lina took a deep breath and calmed herself, then apologized to the girl and said that when she woke up too early her grumpy side got up before her brains did. She was so sincere that the girl curtsied and forgave her then quickly helped her get dressed. They then went down to a plain but ample, emphasis on the ample, breakfast and Lina ate and ate, until she actually started to feel good again. Finally she smiled at Zel and said, "Okay, I think I'll make it to lunch now. What's the plan?"

Zel, who had been waiting for her to get done, was sitting next to Amilia and Prince Phil, who had joined them in the middle of the meal. "Well," he said, I guess we ride straight to Westhold, meet the "special ambassador" and return. Hopefully we get to ask all sorts of questions along the way, and pick up all sorts of information. If the gods are with us, we get word of the Princess Gracia." "That's it?" said Lina. "Well, we are rather tied because we know nothing of this person we are meeting, what he is like, why he is "special" or anything." responded Zel. "Yeah, yeah, I get the picture." said Lina. "Well, let's go, the sun is up now. Good by Your Majesty" she said to Prince Phil. "Good by Amilia, have fun with Gourry, okay?" she said smiling at her friend. Then she got serious and added "Not too much fun mind you! He's MINE, understand?" "Tsk, Lina!" said a shocked Amilia, "as if I would." "Sorry," said Lina, with an "I was kidding" kind of laugh. She said "Too unjust, I know." "That too, I guess," continued Amilia, "but be serious, me? With Gourry? Get real..." "Huh! What's that mean!" responded Lina sharply. "GIRLS!" said Phil sternly, "there's a time and a place for cat fights over men, and this is neither." "What? Oh as IF!" said both the girls at once. Zel put in "Well, we are off in fine form this morning I see. That's what I like about you two, nothing dampens your spirits for very long... Shall we go, Lina?" "Yes!" hmphed Lina.

As they trudged to the stables, where two horses were ready, Lina observed to Zel "Sorry about that, I think I am finally beginning to figure out just how big my mouth can be." "Ahh" said Zel, "you are just doing what everyone else has to, you have to learn to think before you act. Be thankful you are learning this lesson the easy way..." he said, rubbing his blue face. "Point taken" gulped Lina. Then they were at the stables, they mounted the prepared horses, and off they went.

They kept the horses at a steady trot, eating up the miles but not tiring their mounts too quickly. Indeed, just past lunch time they had reached the village where they met the evening before. "Care for a bite?" joked Zel. "I hear there is a restaurant nearby that has all sorts of famous and important people dropping by, and the locals put on a most entertaining show..." Lina laughed and laughed. "Well, I don't know about stopping, but we could ask if ol' "what's my smell" there from last night paid up. Put the fear of Prince Phil into him if nothing else." "Okay!" said Zel with a smile. "Is it just me Zel, or so you smile more?" asked Lina. "I think I do" replies Zel. "Comes of letting go of some of my self loathing and learning to live with who, and what, I am. Oh, here we are..." They came up to the end of main street, and just before the curve out of town was the same restaurant. Amazingly, it was getting some much needed work! It had a good coat of paint on parts of it, and lumber stood ready for some repairs. The manager came around the corner leading a very dejected Floater and piling the work on. Suddenly they spotted the two travelers. Floater squawked and hit the ground while the manager bowed and came up to Zelgadiss and Lina. "Ah my Lord and my Lady! Come to check on the payment yes?" He turned back to the cowering Floater and said "See? I told you!" Lina laughed derisively, and Zel said "Working it off is he? Well, I will be coming back in a couple of weeks, and I might have a guest with me. Make sure he works fast and well, I might want to entertain, and this place should be up to it!" He then turned to Floater and yelled "You! Do good work!" The former bully cringed and several of the locals who were standing around as onlookers laughed. "It shall be so, my Lord!" said the manager with a bow. Zel nodded back and he and Lina rode off up the road.

A bit later, having eaten packed food on the road so that they could make good time, the two friends were resting the horses at the cross roads where Lina had cried inconsolably. She was a little quiet; to think, it had been only yesterday, it seemed so long ago in some ways. Well, at least when they made it to the little village up the road they could try the best restaurant in town instead of the worst. Then a though struck Lina.

"Hey Zel, do we, um, have to go through Zefielia proper?" Well, the main road goes through the city yes, why?" was the questioning response. "Err, well, uh, my sister lives there, and, well, she owns more than one restaurant there now, and, well, uh, I'd like to avoid her if I can..." "Oh, I remember!" said Zel. "Yes, when Filia recruited us for the battle with Darkstar... You turned blue if I remember. You really don't like her do you?" "Ahhh" said Lina, "lets say I do miss her and my parents very much, but a lot of turbulent water flowed under and even over our bridge in our youth, and I am not quite ready to go mend it yet. I do want to, but my courage isn't up to it just now..." Zel gave her a wide eyed look. "Come to think of it Lina, I don't know much of your past except from where we joined together to battle Rezo and Shabradnigdo. Oh well, I admit curiosity, but, I won't pry, it sounds like there is many a personal tale there." "Yeah, there is" said Lina quietly, looking up the road towards her home. "I'll tell you some of the stuff someday, but just not right now..." "Okay by me" replied Zel. "Well, we better get going. So, you should know the roads, you take us around Zefielia now on the way up, and we will see how things go on the way back. We may have to come back through town if we are in a hurry, but we'll try not to stop if we can avoid it." "Fair enough!" said Lina brightly. "Okay, let's go!" 


	5. eChapter4

Chapter 4 xxxxxxxxx

A hard day's ride found them at the farther edge of Lina's homeland and turning east along lesser known roads towards the mysterious kingdom of Westhold. As dark evening fell they were seeking shelter in a little wayside inn just the other side of the Elemikian border. Lina, as usual, ate prodigiously, to the amazement of all who saw her. Zel seemed happy with his meagre cup of wine. Lina however, seemed grouchy and out of sorts. "I must have ridden too far!" she concluded. "Look Zel, I know we have to get there, but let's not push it too fast okay?" Zel looked at her seriously then said "Well, we did make good time today it's true, and in truth the horses won't keep this up, but you seemed so anxious to get away from your home town that we just kept going, when by rights we should have stayed the night there. Tell you what, you decide when we leave tomorrow, early or late, okay?" Lina sighed. "I must be tired or something, I didn't mean to be this snappy, sorry." Lina sat there sipping her tea and trying to ponder what was wrong with her this time. "Am I getting sick or something?" she wondered. "Zel", she said finally, I feel more tired than usual, a lot of traveling in two days, an emotional shock, that sort of thing. You mind if I hit the sack early?" Zel shook his head "No" and Lina departed. Zel sat there for awhile contemplating life, their mission, and what might be in store for them from the future. Finally he decided Lina had the right idea and went to bed early too.

The next morning revealed to Lina what was wrong. "I might have known..." she grumbled to herself. Eventually she faced the day and found Zel down stairs, looking like he hadn't left the spot from last night, although he assured her he had gone to bed. "You just slept in" he reassured her. "Yeah, well, now I know why. Um, Zel? You are in charge of the magic for the next few days." Zel gave her a puzzled look, then snorted a little laugh that splattered his tea all over as he suddenly got it. "I'm sorry Lina, I just clued in, sorry, sorry, sorry. "That time of the month" is it?" Lina shot him a sharp look, and nodded. "Okay, I'm on it" he said. "But, hey, this is good, I doubt we will have trouble just riding to Westhold, it'll be when we ride out with the "special ambassador" we'll be in trouble, if there is any to be had. By then you'll be ready for fun and games again, right?" "Yeah" smiled Lina. "That's a good way to put it, he, he. Okay, a little lunch and I guess we better get going." "I'm with you there." said Zel. The usual several course meal followed...

And so the rest of the journey progressed. The two friends talked and got re-acquainted, and even got to know each other a little more than they had already. They discussed life, the weather, magic, and the evil of kings who seek to go to war. Lina even offered to Dragon Slave the whole country, as a joke, but Zel reminded her she needed to know who the witch was first, if she was powerful like Lina and survived it would be devastation all around. Lina gave an exaggerated sigh and said "Yeah, yeah, I got it, it was just a joke..."

Soon enough they arrived at the border. Lina took a good look around. According to every map she had seen as a girl, this should be a rocky shore with empty ocean beyond. Yet it was plainly a high mountain pass they had been climbing for the past while. In fact, it must have been a river channel at one point in time, long dry now. That explained how it was much lower than the surrounding cliff walls which towered overhead straight and tall. Finally they reached the crest, and were confronted by a well build towering wall with a heavy duty iron gate in the middle of it.

"Wow!" said an impressed Lina. "This thing must be, what, a hundred feet tall?" "Something like that." replied Zel. "They did it because it is basically impossible in a tight spot like this for a siege tower to be used, and there is no way an enemy can get a ladder up that high to scale the wall. And that iron gate is something like two feet thick. You aren't going to get a ram up here that will break that gate. About the only thing that will threaten this place is a massive siege engine, one capable of throwing boulders of at least 200 to 300 pounds. One that big would take a long time to build, and be open to an attack in force from the defenders. It could be done, you need a big army to choke the passage while you build the stone caster, but that means an organised assault, of course. Or there is magic..." "Hmmmm, yeah," said a thoughtful Lina, "a well placed Dragon Slave would do it, but not unless there was an army ready to charge forward into the breach... Well, intelligence for Prince Phil if it comes to war I guess. But what's with the funny holes on the top and in the door?" "I wonder that myself." replied Zel. "But I never had a chance to ask. It looks like it was meant to hold a platform or something. Maybe when they were constructing it? And the door? No idea? Well, it's the border. Welcome to a world we never knew existed."

With that, they went up to the gate, and after the brief formalities common to any guarded border they were through. A small guard accompanied them, there had been orders to look out for them. "Um, thanks" said Zel, "although I do know the way now..." "No insult meant sir!" responded the lieutenant in charge, "We are primarily an honour guard, king's orders, sir!" "Uh, okay..." replied a suspicious Zel. "Well, we are at your command then Lieutenant!" With that they were off. Lina and Zel rode uneasily and mostly in silence the rest of the day. As evening descended they could see the a fortified city in the distance. It looked like they were making for it.

"Is that where we are going?" Lina asked one of the guards. "Yes my Lady! That is our capital city, Stronghold!" "Stronghold?" asked Lina, a little incredulously. "He, he, yeah, I know what you mean my Lady." said the guard with a smile. "Actually, it started out as a hill fort an incredibly long time ago, which everyone called the stronghold. When it became a city, well, we never got around to changing the name, although it has been suggested from time to time. I don't know, my Lady, imagine trying to rename your home city. Not as easy as it sounds." "I see your point." said Lina with a smile. "And thanks for the answer." "My pleasure, my Lady!" responded the guard. "We have been told to try and answer any questions and do what ever makes your trip more comfortable."

"Oh?" replied a curious Lina. "Tell me then, if you please, we have heard you have a very powerful witch in the employ of the king. Is that true? And is she as powerful as all that?" Zel's eyes flew open, Lina was obviously blunt, but, well, it was what they wanted to know... "Well, we call her the Royal Sorceress, for that is our title for one in her position. And yes she would be powerful or she wouldn't have been hired for the position. To tell the truth we know next to nothing of her, as usual, the Royal Sorcerer or Sorceress is a very secluded person who is busy with the affairs of the defence of the kingdom. We really never have seen her. It is said there are deep and powerful secrets in the Wizard's tower of the castle, and most magic users spend their lives in deep study once they are allowed to enter. It is said she is beautiful, but that she has an evil laugh, but whether that is true or no, I do not know, sorry."

"Well, then tell me, I hear you have a new Queen and a new Heir to the throne!" was Lina's next question. "Oh yes!" brightened the guard. "Queen Grace! Now I have seen her! Tall and lovely, with her long black hair which is very rare in this land of blondes! And her proud royal look! Definitely a regal person and a good match for the king! And you know? This was an all too rare love match! You can tell just by seeing how they look at each other. And Prince Arthur, the Heir! You'd think he was the next best thing to a god on earth the way they fuss over him. Here's an odd thing, well, at least by our satandards. The Queen will not suffer him to have a wet nurse, but feeds him herself! It is said she jokes of "Nothing but the best!" for her son, but that in actuality she just loves him so much she can't bear to let anyone else get as close to him in a motherly sort of way. What do you think of that?" "Actually, I like her already!" replied Lina, as she had a tender feeling for the woman who puts her child ahead of herself and her privilege.

Zel picked up the questions. "Queen Grace you say?" he asked. "Her name isn't properly Gracia is it?" "Not that we know," said another guard with a shrug, "it's always just been Queen Grace." "Where did she come from?" asked Zel. "Well, I believe it was from one of our western most dukedoms actually." replied the same guard. "Have you heard anything of a lady named Gracia travelling around these parts?" asked Zel again. "No, sorry." said the guard. "Was she famous in your country? A singer or performer of some sort? Lot's of people come and go, mostly merchants, but we don't meet most of them." "Oh well," said Zel once more, "This could have been as much as three years ago. She is someone the court of Seirune was interested in is all. I was told to make enquiries."

"And I have an enquiry of my own." said Lina. "A traveling magician I once knew who called herself "Naga the White Serpent". I think you WOULD have heard of her if she came this way." The guards thought for a minute then one of them said "The name rings a slight bell, but that's about all I can recall. Sorry, not very helpful today are we?" "Oh well..." was Lina's reply. "Say, you have been taking in mercenaries I hear. I would be interested in finding one called Gourry Gabriev if I could. He'd be tall, well built, with long blond hair and a special sword." "Well," said the Lieutenant "That fits the description of a lot of mercenaries we have recruited lately, but I don't recall the name. You might ask at the castle for all the names you were wondering about. Sorry."

With that they entered the town and quickly swept along the streets and up to the castle. It was obviously built for defence, not a luxury villa, but it had been well tended and had nice grounds and gardens. Lina and Zel allowed themselves some time for just looking around trying to get a feel for the city and the palace. As they got close they came to realise the castle was actually a great hall and all the defensive works were in the walls surrounding the inner court yard. It had a rugged appeal, reminiscent of wild free tribes of men rather than organised, stuffy "civilised" kingdoms and Lina found herself rather liking it from the start.

She also noticed the guards seemed rather free in their own way with their own thoughts and beliefs, and it was evident there was as much a bond of love to their king that made them want to serve him, as much as any sense of "duty." "So" she thought to herself, "a king, but not an absolute monarch then. Ahhh, a rather free people who would follow a king they love, not one they have to. They will not be easily led to a useless war, but they will fight all the fiercer for one they believe in... Hmmm, so if the king IS a slave to the witch or the queen he is still powerful. No, he won't be her slave, he'll be her ally. She could still be the leader though, especially if he is in love and is vulnerable to being lead around by her." "By the way" asked Lina out loud. "Just what is all the military build up for anyway?" "I'm afraid that that is something you will have to have answered at the castle." replied the Lieutenant. "But here we are, we must leave you now, I hope you like your stay, and that you get all your questions answered." With that they came to a stop before the gate. After the usual challenge Lina and Zel were let in.

As the two travellers entered the grounds of the keep they could see it was quite well maintained, efficiently laid out, with stables, armouries, food stores, wells, housing for many troops and probably refugees too. It also had impressive gardens of both the vegetable and flower type, open court yards, and even some place for animal to be raised. In fact, in a few small acres, they had a fort able to withstand all but the most determined of sieges or assaults. Lina and Zel looked at each other with the same unspoken question in their eyes, what were these people so afraid of that they were so prepared in their defences? All this they were able to take in with a quick sweep of the grounds, before they were greeted by "Lord Zelgadiss! Welcome back, you have made very good time I must say!"

"My Lord Erik!" replied Zelgadiss, getting off his horse and bowing as Lina slipped down and followed his cue. "May I introduce my travelling companion, the Lady Lina!" he said. Lina noticed he had left her last name off, and decided she'd do likewise if not directly challenged for it. The young Lord before them was a tall, blond smooth shaved man, except for a large full moustache, somewhat reminiscent of Gourry if his hair were shorter actually, with obvious strength of body under his simple but graceful clothing. Well, at least they weren't given to pretentiousness here. She also noticed he had only a dagger at his belt, sufficient for both defence and utility, but indicative of one who felt safe and comfortable, someone at home in the hall.

Zelgadiss continued the introductions. "Lina, Lord Erik here is the younger brother to King Alfred! My Lord, we are honoured to have such an important person greet us. We are after all, only emissaries." Erik laughed and replied "Oh enough polite talk Lord Zelgadiss. Why shouldn't ambassadors be welcomed by me? Anyway, the King is aware of your coming, of course, and wishes to see you as soon as possible. I will show you to your rooms where you may freshen quickly, but please, if you desire to change, don't be pretentious, just comfortable, I implore you." As he spoke he hurried them along to the castle, leaving the servants to bring in the luggage and stable the horses.

Lina quickly found herself in a small, but elegant room. It was not overcrowded with luxury, but rather it was dignified, and seemed to suggest that anyone who was in it was also dignified. Lina stared for awhile. She had been raised poor, and had dreamed of gaudy luxury all her life, yet now, seeing how it could be done with simplicity, she found herself rather liking this arrangement better. "Well, live and learn..." she said to herself as she got down to business and washed herself, combed out her hair and changed quickly. She was glad she didn't have to wear the formal and uncomfortable gown she had packed, just in case. But now it was plain these people were not formal beyond what was needed, and that dignity was something you did, not something you wore. Could they really be the warmongers Phil had been lead to fear by rumour? Had they got it wrong? Dressed in a set of travelling clothes which looked rather nice on her Lina stepped into the hall, and found Zel in similar plain but complimentary attire. A servant was waiting at the end of the hall and now she came forward and led them to the reception room of the king.

As they entered the Lord Erik himself stood up and announced "Your Majesties, may I present the Lord Zelgadiss, and the Lady Lina, special emissaries from the noble kingdom of Seirune! Lord and Lady, I give you their Majesties the King Alfred, the Queen Grace, and the Prince Arthur, the beloved rulers of the free peoples of Westhold!" As Lina and Zelgadiss bowed before them the King and Queen arose. The King laughed as he did so.

"Ah yes, the ruler of free people, and if you can solve that contradiction in terms I'll be glad, because the heavens know I can't." The king was taller than his brother with long blond hair running down his back, and a full, but neatly trimmed beard. He was perhaps slightly balding, obviously he hadn't been born yesterday. Never-the-less he was in fine shape, and was a handsome specimen of a man. If anything his plain clothing set off his looks more than any cloth of gold could ever have done. Lina noticed that, like Gourry, he had the graceful, almost feline movements of a swordsman. His face spoke of one who was much given to laughter but who could command when the time came. Lina wondered how such a man could be said to be wrapped around his Queen's finger, obviously he was nobody's fool. Either the rumours were wrong, and Lina's guess that they were allies was right, or the Queen was even more special.

She turned her attention to the Queen. She seemed very plain in a way, dressed out in a simple white gown that covered her from head to toe, quite literally, as she had on a sort of hood or veil that covered all but her eyes, which were a piercing blue. And they were very piercing Lina noticed. In fact, the Queen was staring so hard at her that it was like she was piercing Lina with her gaze. Lina was starting to feel downright uncomfortable when the woman finally seemed to force herself to tear her eyes away and look down. "Please be welcome noble guests" she said in a soft voice, which was a surprise to Lina after the strong gaze. "And please," said the King, "do be seated, this isn't some boring formal occasion. May I offer you some light refreshments?" he said as he clapped his hands. Lina cringed, but decided to grin and bear it, hopefully they could eat properly later. Servers came forward and cups of tea and delicate cakes were set before the guests. Lina contented herself for the moment with nibbling the dainties, they were quite good. The King and Queen seated themselves, and then King Alfred spoke.

"I realise you have only arrived, and I cannot at this time go into any reasons why, but I must ask that you set out again tomorrow morning. Time is critical, trust me. And so is speed and secrecy. Therefore, I must insist you travel like this. Lord Zelgadiss, you shall get a send off and leave with your horses well laden and bearing an official looking scroll. Lady Lina, you will be adorned as a mere wanderer and shall set off on foot, at a different time, with the special ambassador. And I will now introduce that person to you. My love..." he said turning to the Queen who stood up, with her baby in her arms. "The person you will accompany is no less than her Majesty, the Queen Grace, and with her, the Heir Apparent, Prince Arthur!"

Lina and Zelgadiss seemed to have a race to see who's jaw could hit the floor first. It seemed to be a tie. Zel pulled himself together first and said, or rather babbled, "Uh, so you wish me to be a distraction as the two ladies sneak away yes?" "Yes," said the King. "And I must ask you make for the border post haste and only rejoin them on the other side, safely out of sight of the wall. I have reason to fear spies everywhere..."

Lina now found her voice and blurted in with "The Queen? You are sending the Queen? And the Prince? That makes no sense, why?" The King and Queen looked at each other, obviously very sad. Tears were falling from the Queen's eyes, and seemed to be standing in the King's eyes. "I can't explain now." he said softly. "Trust me, all will be revealed in Seirune, but I ask, no, beg, that you respect what must be kept quiet until then." "Top Secret, all right, all right, I get it." replied Lina. "Okay, well, in that case, we will want a good supper, a good breakfast, and supplies enough to reach our destination." "You will have that and more." replied the King with a smile.

"Here, the first part of your load!" he said, tossing a bag to Lina. She opened it and forgot to breath. It had gold coins, and jewels of unsurpassed quality. She gave a gasp and said "That's practically enough to become a Queen myself..." "Well, don't" said the King. "Bring MY Queen safe back to me and you can have a hundred sacks like that one in reward." Lina was staggered by the visions of wealth which swam before her eyes for a second. She gave her head a shake and responded "I have no intention of not seeing this job through your Majesty. But I won't lie to you, your reward is very appealing..." "Lina..." said Zel, a bit embarrassed. "Ha, ha" chuckled the King. "I appreciate the honesty, don't worry, our mountains are full of gold and jewels and other treasures, I won't leave you short, either of you." Zel quietly muttered something about that not being the point...

Lina took a deep breath to regain her composure. She then thought for a minute and said "I actually would value something even more if it can be arranged." she said. "I am missing a close friend named Gourry Gabriev, a mercenary of some repute. You are hiring, he may have come here. He is tall like your Majesty, has long straw blond hair, usually wears a breast plate, and likes pale blue clothing. He disappeared only a week or so ago, I don't think he had time to grow a beard. He's about 29 years of age, and, well, I need to find him quickly if I can..." she said. "Oh..." said the King with a quizzical look. "The best I can do right now is to have the lists of recruits examined for his name, and if it is found we will bring him to you if we can. But you cannot delay, time is very important!" "No, no, your Majesty, I understand" said Lina. "Thank you for doing what you can." As she spoke it seemed to Lina that the Queen's eyes had opened a bit, almost as if in recognition of the name. Seeing Lina's look the woman slowly shook her head no. "Oh well, must have reminded her of someone else." thought Lina sadly. "Well, then, um, what is the next order of business?" she asked.

The King smiled and said, "Why, your supper, of course. I am sorry for making you wait for it, but I needed you to understand quickly what was wanted of you." "Ahh, okay!" said Lina. "Um, by the way, your Majesty, is it just me, or do you not use the royal "We" very much?" "No I don't." replied the King. "In Westhold we tend to reserve such pretentious formality for ceremonial occasions. Does this bother you? We are more than capable of using it if it would make Our honoured guests feel more relaxed around Us?" "AKK, no, it's okay!" said Lina with a nervous giggle. "It's just most kings I have met tend to use it like they want to rub it in your face or something, and actually it was a refreshing change to find you not doing so!" "Ahh, I see what you mean, and I thank you. It feels better not to have to use it from my point of view too." replied King Alfred.

They were ushered in to a dining room and a full meal was placed before them. "My wife and I must attend to some last details, and I must order the search for your friend, Lady Lina, so if you both will pardon us, we shall take our leave for tonight. If you want anything just ask, and when you are ready for sleep the servants will take you back to your rooms." There was a round of mutual bowing and the King and Queen left. Lord Erik, who had kept quietly to the sideline also made his departure.

Lina and Zel were then led to a dining room. For a long time there wasn't much sound beyond that of happy eating, especially from Lina's end of the table. Some of the dishes were quite familiar, some were strange, but all were delicious. Finally even Lina had to slow down and then she and Zel began to talk. "So, Zel, What do you think? Personally, I find all of this freaky! He's sending the Queen, and his new son, the very heir apparent? Are they mad? I smell a rat, or worse..."

"It is weird beyond belief Lina." replied Zel. "The first thing that comes to mind of course is that this isn't the real Queen or Prince. I have already thought that maybe it is the Witch and some hapless newborn. It would be a way of getting close enough to Prince Phil to do deadly damage, who would suspect a mother and baby?" "Yeah, that's a thought." said Lina, idly twirling a chicken leg, "But, of course, there's one heck of a problem, you need to know why a kingdom we hardly know wants to get Prince Phil, or Seirune? I mean, it is a powerful enough kingdom, but it isn't the only one, and attacking one like that will bring all the other kingdoms down against you really fast. I mean, for example, can you see Martina and Zangulas standing for that? They may have only so-so feelings for Seirune, but you can bet they will see an attack on Seirune by an outside power as a threat to themselves. They have made a few alliances with some of their neighbours, they could get quite an allied army together real quick, and there'd be one heck of a war. And doing in Phil wouldn't destroy Seirune's army, so you've got that, and all Seirune's allies to deal with as well. Of course, that may be what these people want."

"Yes I thought all of that too." was Zelgadiss' response as he sipped a drink. "Mind you, if they think we are ripe for the picking they may want us to get together for a mass "get it over and done with" battle, and if they are ruthless enough to send a woman and child out on an assassination mission, anything is possible. I doubt they would send the Witch though, they'd need her for when the war got tough. This could be some poor misguided, perhaps suicidal crazy woman who'd do anything for king and country. But, you know, watching them together, I rather got the impression it really was the Queen?"

Lina thought about it for a minute then replied, "I don't know why, but I think you are right, Zel, some sort of bizarre sneak attack doesn't seem right, somehow, not this way at any rate. Okay, let's say it really is the Queen, what would be the point?" Zelgadiss thought for a bit then said " I don't know. Peace?" "Nah, that's what ambassadors of the usual sort are for. Even if you want the Queen to visit, you arrange it through ambassadors first." replied Lina. "Trade? Friendship? Help?" asked Zelgadiss, trying to think the puzzle through. "Ambassadors, ambassadors, and ambassadors." replied Lina again. They thought for a bit then Zel said "Safety!" Lina looked puzzled. "He's trying to get her and the baby out of the country!" Zel exclaimed.

Lina thought about this, her fingers absentmindedly playing with her big loopy earrings. Finally she said " In that case, having her show up in the royal court of Seirune destroys her safety. He'd do better to sneak her out and have her go to ground as a peasant somewhere." "Ah, but this one is a distraction!" said Zel. "Maybe" said Lina, "but it is pretty risky that your enemies will realise the real one is gone, or going, and will watch all who leave the castle, or hall, or whatever they call this place. Still you have a point. But then what? When she gets to Seirune and the ruse is revealed?" "I don't know." said Zel. "I don't either." said Lina. "Well, I guess we will find out when we get back home." was all Zel could think to say.

They sat in silence for awhile, each pondering his or her own thoughts. But they couldn't make heads or tails of it. Zel finally said "Oh well, let's go to bed then, we need to make an early start anyway." "Yeah, okay" said Lina. "Um, you are back up to strength, right Lina?" asked Zel a bit hesitantly. "Yup," said Lina matter of factly "That business was last week." "Just wondered, in case we had to do battle..." said Zel. " I got it," said Lina. "Of course if you don't believe me, I can always fireball you to prove it, he, he..." Zel laughed and said "Oh, that's okay Lina, I will trust you. Well, let me ring for the servants, and I guess it is good night!" "Ha, ha, Yeah, goodnight Zel" replied Lina. With that, they were escorted to their rooms. 


	6. fChapter5

Chapter 5 xxxxxxxxx

Morning came too early, again, but Lina was getting used to it, and anyway, making a scene really seemed the wrong thing to do this time around. So Lina took her wakeup call, and kept her grumbling to herself. She was determined to be polite and good, at least until she had this so-called Queen Grace alone on the highway, preferably on HER side of that border wall, then she'd see what she could get out of her!

The maid who helped Lina get dressed brought her the clothes she was to wear, at least while they walked through the land of the Westhold. It was a sturdy affair, sort of a hooded cape that closed in front to protect the face from dust and wind, maybe even the sun. It also hid it from view. Lina asked the maid if covering their faces like this wouldn't make them conspicuous, but the woman replied that in fact such a garment was common enough among the people of the land. The mountain air tended to be cold and dry, even in the height of summer, which was just approaching, and the winds could be strong and dusty in some of the highland areas, and this protective garment was the result. They would be conspicuous if they DID NOT cover up! So, in short order, Lina was done up in the garb of a respectable, if poor, traveler along the roads of this strange kingdom.

Lina was taken downstairs and found breakfast laid on and ready. This time she ate with the servants. The plan was to have the two women leave by way of the servant's entrances to help make it look like they were not important, while Zelgadiss was to get a royal send off. Lina didn't mind overly much, the staff were rather talkative, at least about general things and Lina had lots of questions. She learned that they had been repeatedly invaded from the East and had survived by sheer dint of arms. She also saw that there had been enough wars in the land that the people did not like it, but was relieved to see that they hadn't had so much of it that they had made a cult out of war. Again, she found this re-enforcing the idea that these people were not going to be lead into a battle at the whim of a king. She even found out that the king wasn't all powerful, but that he had to share power with a council of ministers who were elected from the people themselves. She began to wonder all the more what was going on, this would imply that the whole kingdom would have to agree to a march west. She decided to ask outright.

"Um, pardon me if I'm sticking my nose in your business, but from what little I've seen, and from the tales that several merchants have told, your kingdom appears to be on some sort of a war footing. Are you expecting trouble then?" she asked. "Hard to say." was the casual reply that she got back. "We are always hearin' of rumours of war, so anytime an alarm goes out we don't jump to too many conclusions. The army has to check out the rumours of course, so there is always some sort of activity going on, and every now and again we get a surprise drill or exercise where several units go off to train, so who knows. You outlanders, meanin' no offence wouldn't know about that, I reckon, so maybe it looks to someone like we are at war, when it is only preparedness we are about." "Uh, yeah..." said Lina, not sure if this was the answer, or if she was being conned. "I guess so..."

At that moment a tall, hooded woman entered, dressed in a simple robe similar to Lina's, with a baby snuggled into her breast. Some of the staff rose, only to be quietly told to sit back down by some of the others. Lina did a double take and realised the eyes, about all she could see of the woman, were those of the Queen! So, here she was at last. Lina wondered if the mystery woman would have breakfast, so that she could see her face, but, apparently she had eaten with the king, or wasn't hungry. She asked Lina quietly "Is everything well with you this morning? Are you ready to go?" Lina replied "Well, I'd never say no to sleeping in, but he, he, yes, I am ready." The Queen made no reply, but her eyes seemed to smile.

The two women made their way to the door and took up various packs that looked like those a couple of travelers might carry for a few days journey to a neighbouring town, perhaps taking goods to market. Lina checked her own personal gear, her sword was safely tucked in out of site, but easily reachable, and the bag of money was well hidden. The Queen carried a small utility knife and a wicked looking one hand dagger. Lina thought this was practical. She couldn't hold her baby and swing a sword anyway. They both had walking sticks that were quite sturdy. Looking the part finally, the two women set off, just as the rising sun began to brighten from dawn to daylight proper.

"I must disappoint you I'm afraid" said the Queen with little more than a whisper, "but a quick search of the rolls revealed no one named Gourry or Gabriev." "Why am I not surprised." said Lina resignedly. "We will keep looking, there may have been a spelling error or something" the Queen went on. "If he is here under an alias though, we may never find him, I'm afraid" she concluded. "I thank you for looking, Your Majesty." said Lina quietly, then she picked up her stick and said "Well, let's go!" They set off into the streets.

As they trudged through the streets Lina looked around at the city. It certainly didn't have a lot of impressive buildings or temples or anything, but the architectural style, thought it was rather foreign to Lina's experience, was never-the-less pleasing to look at. It spoke of a culture that had developed a high competency in science and art. Then the Queen spoke in a low but urgent voice. "Lina, please, I know this is new to you, but if you look around too much people will know you are a tourist! And cover your face! It was seen as you rode in, people will want to know why the Lady from Seirune is walking around the country like a merchant woman!"

"Eep!" said Lina, pulling her hood shut. "Sorry, Your Majesty!" she said in earnest. "I knew that much, but it slipped my mind this morning!" "And don't call me "Your Majesty!"" the Queen went on with an earnest whisper. "For the rest of the trip call me Grace!" Lina thought for a second and asked "But wouldn't calling you by your name give the game away as quickly as using your title? Shouldn't I use a false name?" The Queen replied "Anyone who figured out who we were from our disguises won't be put off by a name change. And in an emergency there is the chance the false name might be forgotten by any of us. No, it is to hide from the curious, the talkers who's recollections might be of interest to trackers that we must hide ourselves. Anyway, Grace is a common enough name in this country, even Lina, though rare, isn't unheard of. We will be best if we just seem to be what we look like, ordinary women..." The Queen broke off suddenly, leaving Lina to wonder why. "This is going to be a strange trip" she thought to herself.

The Queen, or rather, Grace, didn't seem very talkative, and Lina didn't feel like bothering her at first anyway. For one thing, they both wanted out of town as quickly as possible, plus, the baby was a bit fussy, perhaps not used to such movement as the walking. Also, Grace seemed a bit out of shape for this sort of exercise, and admitted as much when Lina asked if she was tired, but then added that before she was pregnant she walked a lot all over the place, and that she needed to get back into shape anyway. "There's nothing like a baby for altering your figure Lina." she confided, then added, "Not that I'm complaining, my life was so empty before Arthur was born, even if my days were packed." She sighed and seemed lost in thought, or perhaps it was recollection. Lina ventured a question. "So, um Grace. Tell me a bit about yourself, since your mission is off limits.

Grace pondered for a minute then said rather flatly in her quiet voice "There isn't that much to tell, really. I was raised the daughter of a prince. To say I was pampered would probably be an understatement, but I did love to walk and ramble in the outdoors when I got the chance. I'd say I was happy enough as a child, not knowing any differently. My little sister was born several years after I was, so we weren't really that close, though that doesn't mean we didn't love each other dearly." She was quiet for a minute, then continued in a sadder tone. "My mother... died unexpectedly when I was a teenager, and, well, I'm afraid I took it very badly. It certainly changed me. I wandered a lot, by myself when I could, and was well nigh inconsolable, we had been very close. In fact, I am very much like her, both in personality, and in form and face. Finally my father let me go where I would, and I ended up in the court at Stronghold, where I held down a minor position, but one that I liked, mostly doing research in the libraries there."

Grace paused for a secind then went on "Somehow, I caught the King's eye, then one night, an opportunity came up for us to just talk. We discovered we liked talking to each other, just as friends, and, well, somehow one thing lead to another, we fell in love, and, since I was suitable and there was no objection to make, we married. A short time after that I discovered I was going to have a baby. I think I conceived on my wedding night, but to be honest the honeymoon was certainly just full of opportunities, he, he. We discovered we liked each other, a lot! Now here we are and but for two things, life would be perfect." She fell silent for awhile, clearly wrapped up in her memories.

After a bit Lina gently prodded her and said "Um, what are the two things? May I know?" Grace looked up with a start and apologized. "Oh Lina! I'm sorry, I got lost in my memories!" she said gently. "The two things, one is my mission, so I won't answer it here, bur I promise I will speak in full in Seirune. The other is just the fact that my mommy is not here to see her first grandchild. She loved children and often wished that life had let daddy and her have more. She would have absolutely doted on Arthur. Sigh... Oh, but enough about me! Let's hear about you! You don't become perhaps the world's greatest Sorceress on a whim?"

Lina smiled. "I wondered if you had recognised me, uh, Grace." "Well, your reputation has preceded you, Lina Inverse. Err, I hope you don't take this wrong, you aren't quite as you have been described." replied Grace quietly. Lina nodded and smiled. "Oh yes, I am well aware of how I am described, and if I ever find out who started some of those awful rumours there's gonna be hell to pay. Especially the Dragon Spooker business. But, that's my fight, Your, err, Grace." Getting ahold of herself she went on "Mommy and Daddy hey? You must have had a close relationship if you could be the daughter of a prince and still use such familiar terms." "I think you are right." Grace responded, sounding quietly happy. "Oh, not for the formal occasions, we still had to do the High and Mighty stuff then. Oh well, when you are of superior breeding you have to act like it." Lina did a double take and wished she could see the woman's face so she'd know if she was joking or serious. Finally she decided it was the former and went on.

"Well," she started, "in everyway I guess I'm your opposite. We are of different heights, and I have bright red hair, but I think I've seen the occasional trace of hair that must be black showing at the edge of your hood." Grace simply nodded, giving Lina a funny look. "He, he, well I am the younger of two sisters, we were raised very poor and I learned to scrounge at an early age. Also I learned to value, or rather, to covet money, I've been known to fireball a friend in an argument over a coin... perhaps I over rate it, but if you've ever done without, perhaps you have an idea what it is to be counting every penny?"

Grace gave another strange look to this as well, then asked "And were you still friends after the, um, fireballing? Sounds painful..." "Oh, ha, ha," chuckled Lina in reply. Nah, the woman I usually did this to was a Sorceress herself and had enough magical wards to absorb any blow I gave her. Well, I can't say it doesn't hurt even then, but it isn't anywhere near to the effect you get if you aren't protected. But she was as poor as I was, and would sometimes go so far as to swipe a coin right out of my hand. I mean, there I am, walking along flipping a shiny gold coin to watch the glint in the sunlight and suddenly SNATCH! and it's gone and there she is, running away with MY coin, and laughing! If that wasn't daring me to do something, I don't know what was."

"Hmm. well, perhaps you will tell me about this coin stealer sometime, Lina" said Grace with a strange tone to her voice. "Oh," said Lina, "It wasn't like that either, we were both out on the road trying to find ourselves, basically living from hand to mouth, and adventure to adventure. We must have made and lost more money in our days than can be counted! It was more of a rivalry thing. "Fighting over territory", is how my dad used to put it when my sister and I had some of our knock down drag'em out battles royal... err, I hope you know what I mean..." said Lina. "Of course!" responded Grace with a quiet, bemused tone "Why do you think they are called "Battles Royal"?" "He, he, yeah, and I just carried them over when I was wandering with Naga!" Lina went on. At the name Naga, Grace turned and gave Lina a strange, unfathomable, look, her blue eyes starring intently out from under her hood. Lina stopped in mid sentence and looked back, wondering what the other woman was thinking. Finally, when Grace obviously wasn't going to spontaneously answer, Lina asked "Does the name Naga mean something to you?"

"Oh," Grace said, still quietly, "Umm, I was trying to remember where I heard it before." "Hey?" said Lina, suddenly excited. "Was she in your kingdom? The last I ever heard tell of her was about three years ago, she was headed in the general direction of Westhold! Maybe she's in your kingdom?" "I believe you may be right." said Grace quietly, "And please keep your voice down" she went on. "Sorry, sorry," replied Lina with less volume than she had been using.

Grace went on "As I remember it, but it is possible I am mixing this up between more than one person, this lady did enter our kingdom and set up shop, so to speak, as a Sorceress, and at first she was proud, and beautiful, and even wonderfully wild, but then she met someone who seemed able to gentle her, and so she settled down quietly." "Proud and beautiful, yup, that sounds like Naga, especially when she described herself." replied Lina. "She was always so convinced she was the most beautiful and superior woman in the world, and she would never, ever give me a break! Especially about, about..., " Lina paused and gathered her breath then went on, rather explosively "Especially about my BREASTS! It isn't my fault they are small! And there SHE was! Hugh in that department. Enough to make every man drool with lust and every woman green with envy! And well aware of that fact too! I think we had more fights that were ultimately based on breast size than we did on our second favourite reason to do battle, which one of us was the superior magician. I usually won, of course."

After a minute of silence Lina went on. "Settled down eh? Say, can I beg a Royal favour?" "What favour?" asked Grace, giving Lina yet another strange look. "Oh, only that when we get done with your mission, can I come back and find her? I need to come back and look for that Gourry I told you about anyway, but it would be fun to see Naga the White Serpent settled down, and I presume she married and has children?" "If I am thinking of the same person, then yes, yes she is, and yes she does. As for looking for her, when my mission unfolds it may be that she won't be that hard to find..." was Grace's response. "Oh does this mission involve magic then?" asked Lina trying to sound curious and keep the warning bell about possible assassinations out of her voice. "It involves a lot of things." replied Grace with a sigh. "Hmmm, is she trying to be cryptic?" Lina asked herself with a quiet thought. "And what's with the quiet voice all the time? Who is she afraid will hear us here?"

Just then there was a distant clink on the highway behind them. The women turned and saw Zelgadiss and a small party of honour guards heading for the boarder at a steady trot. Zel obviously had a batch of papers in a special bag, obviously he was taking important messages to Seirune, if nowhere else. "Just move to the side and keep travelling" said Grace. "We are travellers after all, any other action would be suspicious." The two walkers did just that and in a flash Zelgadiss and his retinue were past them with out so much as a sidelong glance, except maybe a quick one from Zel, who didn't seem to actually recognise them. A few choky minutes passed as the dust of the horses hung along the road, and finally it settled and the road was clear again.

"We must talk less and listen more!" said an earnest and agitated Grace. "We should have heard them coming a lot farther back than we did!" "Who, exactly, are we afraid of?" asked a perplexed Lina. "Spies!" said Grace with a sharp whisper. "Kidnappers! Assassins!" she practically spat. After a few minutes of silence she spoke again in a softer, more sorrowful voice. "I am sorry Lina. In kinder days I would have welcomed you to my kingdom with open arms and made your stay as enjoyable as possible. I realise all this seems strange to you, and there have been no explanations, but it is most important I get to Seirune as soon as possible, and in one piece! Trust me, you will know why, soon enough!" "Okay Grace." whispered Lina in reply. "Well, let's keep our ears open and our mouths shut, as it were. 


	7. gChapter6

Chapter 6 xxxxxxxxx

The two women trudged on with little more spoken words all that day. To Lina's dismay, they made no break for lunch, so she was quite peckish as evening fell. Finally she could stand it no longer and, as her stomach started to rumble, loudly, she asked "When do we eat?" "A mile farther the trees end and there is a village, we can eat and sleep there, and after that, with an early start, we should clear the border before noon." was the reply."Right." said Lina. "Now I remember, we rode through it on the down." "Then, we should go as far from the boarder as possible before we settle for the night. After that, well, after that it will be up to my guides entirely." concluded Grace."Okay" said Lina simply, in a voice that suggested someone surrendering to unavoidable fate.

She set her mind and heart to the task, and soon enough, through the thinning trees, there were the twinkling lights of a small village on the road in front of them. "Lina," whispered Grace, "remember, we are poor, although not impoverished! One room only, and eat lightly. Take some of the provisions we packed if you are still hungry after, okay?" "Hey, I know the routine!" responded a slightly hurt sounding Lina, though whether it was from being told the obvious from Grace, or missing out on a big feast wasn't clear. As the dusk fell with earnest they stumbled into the small, neat inn and booked a room. "I am sorry" said Grace as the man handed the key over. "I am so tired, and I have to settle the baby, please don't think me ungracious Lina, but I have simply got to go to bed. Can you bring up some tea when you come, please?" "Eh, Oh, sure, I guess so." said Lina. After stowing their bags in the room Lina went down stairs to eat. "I don't know if I should leave her alone!" thought the red haired Super Sorceress to herself, "but I need time to think."

Lina remembered Grace's warning about making herself obvious and ate what for her was a small meal. Well, it took the edge off, and gave her some time alone. "Okay, what did you learn today?" she thought to herself. "Let's see, this Grace is, well, different. No, she's weird. No, scratch that, the whole thing is weird. Is she really the Queen? That is too bizarre, what King would send his Queen to do an ambassador's job? And send the Heir Apparent with her? That's just plain out of this world unreal! Still, let's see, can I come up with a reason why they would be telling the truth? Okay, lets say she is the Queen, and it is the Heir who she has with her, why would you send them? And why alone, guarded only by one Sorceress, even if that Sorceress is me? She keeps emphasising secrecy, what is she afraid of and why does she think we will be beset with spies if we are not careful? What is her message to Prince Phil? Is she trying to hurt or kill him?" Lina thought and thought and thought. Usually she was very good at these sorts of puzzles, but this time she seemed to be loosing her touch.

"Is it because of Gourry?" she asked herself. "Am I so upset by his going that I can't think straight?" After a few more minutes the answer seemed to be a negative. Then a thought struck her. "Okay, if she's not the Queen, why say she is the Queen? So we will believe her, and do what she says without looking too closely? Hmmm, there's an idea. And the baby, very possibly hers, is also a hostage, that ensures OUR good behaviour. They don't want Zel, or me to get too close until this Queen Grace wants to reveal her secret! Well, okay, I can try to pick out what I can, but in the end I guess I better have a big fireball ready, just in case. I only hope I can get Zel to be in a position to save the baby if I have to throw it..."

"Oh, who are you kidding Lina? You can't fireball her as long as she holds that baby. You will just have to take it as it comes. Damn, this is maddening!" With that, she decided she was tired of riddles with no easy solution. Ordering up a pot of tea she made a pretence of digging to find the right change to pay for the meal, having realised that there was some silver and copper coins in the money bag too, and took the pot to the room. When she entered she saw that Grace had been busy. It was evident that she and Arthur had washed and changed. Certain delicate articles of clothing, such as the baby's diapers had also been cleansed and were hung on the balcony rail to dry. "Well, that isn't what you'd expect of a Queen!" thought Lina, who had rather dreaded being asked to do the job herself. "Either Grace has taken motherhood to heart, or she has been well trained for the mission, or, this isn't a Queen..."

She looked around some more. The bed was securely against the wall, and Grace was asleep in it, facing the wall, the baby snuggled up to her breast. She was changed, but had put her cape and it's hood back on, obviously she would be ready for an early start. It was also obvious that there would be no easy chance to sneak a peek at her face tonight. There was evidence of a meal from the rations, well, so she had eaten something. Lina finally set the tea down on the table and decided not to wake Grace to have a drink, she needed her sleep too much. With a yawn Lina realised she was more tired than hungry now anyway, and decided to make a night of it. A quick check, and lo and behold, there were some now lukewarm buckets of water that seem to have been set aside for her to wash with. After a brief debate about using magic to warm them with Lina decided it was too risky, and a quick but thorough wash in the tepid liquid had to suffice. Not really satisfied with the feeling, but never-the-less clean, Lina followed Graces example and got into bed, completely dressed. She whispered "Goodnight!" to Grace, but didn't here any reply. In a short time she was deeply asleep too, all the traveling was beginning to make itself felt after all.

She awoke with a start the next day and was surprised to see sunlight streaming in the window. Hey! No one had awakened her. Suddenly she remembered where she was and sat up in bed. The sleep left and the room sprang into view. Grace was there, phew! She was sitting beside the small table, her back to Lina. From the looks and the sounds of things she was feeding Arthur and cooing and playing with him as she did so. She sounded so happy. Lina had a sudden vision of herself, with Gourry beside her, looking down in wonder on a new little life that the two of them had made. It seemed a holy moment to her. She shook her head to clear the vision, and thought sadly to herself "Gourry, where are you?" Finally, she gave a big stretch and a big yawn, and got out of the bed.

"Good morning Lina." said Grace in her quiet voice. "Such as it is, there is breakfast on the table. Thank you for the tea, it is good, even cold. I left you some." Lina looked, and realised there was a simple meal of sorts laid out. Again, Grace had managed to elude Lina's getting a peek at her face. "Uh, thanks Your...er...Grace. What time is it?" "The village clock struck nine a few minutes ago" was the response. "Errr, so, we slept in then." said Lina, a bit puzzled by the early start business. "Well, I have been up since seven with the baby, he's been a bit fussy, all this traveling I think, but you needed some sleep, I thought, so I let you sleep away. Besides, I feel it in my muscles, all the walking, and wasn't too eager to set out right away anyway." was Graces reply. "Oh, errr, right, well, I do feel better, thank you."

With that, Lina went about the business of starting the day. "Okay, what's the revised plan?" she asked after taking some food. "Um, well, try to clear the gate by early afternoon, I guess, and then meet Lord Zelgadiss on the other side somewhere. After that, I know not, except to go to Seirune." was Grace's reply. "What do you recommend?" Lina thought for a moment then said. "It is a bit of a push, because it goes uphill and down, but there is a path that can cut off a big loop of the road and perhaps bring us to Seirune a bit quicker, if we are up for walking in the wilds. We better ask Zel about this, but we might be able to avoid anyone who expects us to use the road, since you seem to fear that possibility. Also, in the wild I can usually let loose with my magic if there is trouble, without worrying about innocent bystanders or villages. What do you think?" Grace thought a minute then said "Might be worth a try, we shall see."

The two women packed up and made ready to go. Lina observed that the Queen seemed a bit more tired than yesterday. "Better make sure she doesn't over do it, rush or no rush" she thought to herself. "But, I guess she won't calm down till we at least clear the gate, oh well. When they were ready they both took a deep breath and set off. After a bit, the exercise and the sun warmed them, and they were in their stride, a nice steady mile eating pace that carried them on. Lina tried a bit of chit chat with Grace, but the woman clearly feared trouble by the time they reached the boarder and so they were rather silent and wary as they tramped along. There were several times that Lina got the impression of being watched, but she was never able to pinpoint the watcher, and couldn't say for sure it wasn't nerves, so she said nothing and just quietly strengthened her protective wards. A couple of times she pretended to adjust her clothing so she could make sure her sword was handy, but, for all that they made it to a shady glade by the road to eat lunch without incident.

"Whew, that was a good walk after all!" said Lina as they unslung their packs and prepared to eat. "Yes, better than I expected to be honest." replied Grace as she managed to eat without showing her face by bending over and feeding the baby. "So," she went on, "I rather expect we will make the boarder by one or two, there will be a slight bit of business as we have to register for a tax receipt, and then we are through." "Uh, huh!" said Lina with a snort. "Tell me, Grace, if you are a rich as His...as Alfred said last evening, why do you need taxes? Why not mine more gold if you need money for the, ummmm, family business?" "Taxes aren't what you think." replied Grace quietly. "A country, like a tub, would eventually get full if you poured gold into it with out a drain. Then the money becomes worthless as there is too much of it around. So taxes are used to remove excess from circulation." "Lina looked puzzled. "I, err, never thought of it that way..." she said hesitantly. "Oh I know" said Grace. "They are a nuisance, and imperfect, and all too easily abused, with excessive amounts being charged, things taxed that never should be taxed and all that. Unfortunately, no one has come up with a better plan." she finished with a sad shake of the head. "However, this would not be a good time to discuss the evils of tax law with the boarder guards, although if you want to look disgusted while we register that certainly would be in character!" she said, sounding a little more light hearted.

"He, he, yeah" said Lina in reply. "Must keep the disguise up!" "Yes that's true..." said Grace as she adjusted her hood. She picked up her bundles and her baby, gave a sigh and a bit of an unscheduled burp and said "It will be good to get back to Seirune and get back to normal, err, sorry, I meant, it will be good to get to Seirune and get back to normal, I think the sun is making me drowsy, we better get going before we fall asleep for the rest of the day." They set to the road again. Lina pondered Grace's little gaff and wondered "Does she have some connection to Seirune? That makes no sense..." She decided on a bold approach and asked "So, do you have some sort of connection to Seirune, Grace?" Grace looked at her with a funny stare, then said "Well, yes, I guess so, it is the country I am going to fulfill my mission..." "Can I ask, why Seirune at least?" asked Lina. Grace thought for a minute then answered guardedly "They are the nation most worried we are going to invade, Lina. Oh yes, we are aware of what is said, merchants tongues will wag both ways especially if they are angling to be arms suppliers or something equally as lucrative... However, for all that, Prince Phillionel is the most likely to give us a fair hearing, and, well, I think I have a very good shot at convincing him we mean no harm..." She was silent for a bit then went on in a sadder tone. "You have no idea how much I wish I could tell you Lina, but I am too afraid to speak on the road, hell, I am too afraid to even show my face. Please, bear with me" "Of course Grace..." said Lina quietly, her heart going out to the woman. She hadn't realised there could be so much to a Queen's life. She reaffirmed to herself then and there that being Gourry's Queen would be enough of a challenge for one life time.

As they walked along Lina contented herself with small talk, and found out Grace was fairly well versed in things about nature, she recognised several kinds of birds and was able to talk about the weather in terms of future predictions from the clouds and the winds. When asked how she learned all this she sighed and said, "The hard way..." The walk was a bit awkward, but soon enough the gates were visible. Grace seemed to relax a bit and said "Thank all the gods, known and unknown..." "Ehh?" asked Lina. "I have been expecting trouble at any turn for the past while Lina, but here we are with no trouble at all. I don't think anyone will try anything in sight of the gate, too many guards too close." "Hmmm, yeah..." said Lina slowly, looking at the small crowd at the gate waiting to be let through. "Barring a suicidal sneak assassin or two..."

"Well, I can't do anything about that, except watch out." replied Grace in a quiet, worried voice. Lina shook her head in wonder. If the woman hadn't shown her self to be brave by taking on this mission Lina would have been certain that she was too weak to be able to rule over the King and turn his heart to battling the west. Okay, it looked like she really would have to wait till Seirune... although, maybe alone on the road, outside of her country, she might loosen up if she felt safer? "Wait and see, Lina, wait and see..." the redheaded Sorceress thought to herself. They approached the gate without incident, were questioned by the bored looking guard, who seemed to notice nothing unusual about the two women. They were given a tax receipt to use as an exit visa, and like that, they were through! 


	8. hChapter7

Chapter 7 xxxxxxxxx

Lina walked with a free and easy swing as she felt the familiar ground of home under her feet. "Strange way to feel..." she thought to herself, being that she was many miles from her usual haunts, including Zefielia and Seirune. "Yet, suddenly, this side of the wall has become "home" and that side is a foreign country." She shook her head and set her feet to the road. She glanced over at Grace and found her looking around as if she had never seen a mountain pass before. "Um, you haven't been here before, I take it, Grace?" she asked. Grace replied "Well, actually, I did explore on this side of the wall before I got settled at the keep in Stronghold." She looked some more and then sighed and said, with a shake of her head, "I can't believe we got through without an incident!"

"The people you fear are that scary are they?" asked Lina. "Worse." was Grace's quiet reply. She snuggled her son closer and seemed distressed. "If they did not attack us on that side then they might try on this side, and they will be stronger and more determined if they do." she went on. "Or they are not coming." responded Lina. "Anyway, you should tell me who they are, if I'm to defend you properly it would be nice to have an idea beyond "Assassins" to go on." "Wicked men, and maybe Mazoku that they have allied themselves with." was the response, fear evident in Grace's voice. Lina perked up to that. "Mazoku!" she exclaimed. "Wow, this is hotter than I had thought! Okay, so much for a pleasant stroll through the countryside! We had better find Zelgadiss and fast!" She then asked "Is this why you fear to say much or reveal yourself? Lest some passing spirit over hear?" "Yes." answered Grace. "In part. I also have reasons to hide myself from humans too." She shook her head. "None of this is as I wished. If only we had been granted a little more time we would have made a formal open approach of peace and friendship to all the west, starting with Seirune." She sighed with regret.

Lina observed her sigh was louder than her voice. She shook her head and thought "I wonder why she wants to hide so bad? She's even hiding her voice, from just normal speaking! Oh well..." She asked Grace "May I at least enquire, yet again, why Seirune first? It seems to me there must be more than just the fact they are suspicious of whatever Westhold is doing. Is it because it is powerful? Or because of the justice philosophy of her kings?" "Partly that," said Grace, "and partly that there are ties to Seirune that are as of yet un-revealed to her reigning Lord, Prince Phillionel. Ties that by rights he should learn of first hand, not through a spy or some other who may garble the message." "Ah..." said Lina, quizzically. "I don't really get it, I don't see what secret you have that makes you want to hide so much, even from me, but I accept you are doing this the way you see best." "When the time is right Lina, you will see and have all your questions answered." the taller woman replied with a strange look in her eyes.

Lina and Grace walked on in silence for awhile. Partly this was because the baby was fussy and Grace was preoccupied settling him to her satisfaction. Also, Lina was listening far more intently than she had before. There were, after all, Mazoku involved now. She realised in hindsight she should have guessed that, and mentally chided herself for letting such an obvious danger slip by. Now she was on the alert. But, there was nothing there. And that was worse, perhaps. Walking into danger unexpectedly was one thing, you did not dwell on it before hand. Same with meeting it at an appointed place or time, you knew when or where and could pace yourself. This was different, you knew it was out there somewhere, but you did not know where, or if you had given it the slip, or what to expect. "This is going to be a long trip..." thought Lina, not for the first time.

The two women walked on for a few more hours in relative, and watchful, silence. Finally they reached the bottom of the pass where the ground levelled out. Lina looked around and had a new understanding of the terrain. "This plain," she said in wonder, "I always wondered at it's irregularity. It was a vast floodplain for an ancient river wasn't it!" "Yes, that's true" responded Grace. "Westhold seems to have been a vast inland lake or sea at one point, eons ago. This high pass we came through, a lower pass to the east, and one or two other places seem to have served as the outlets. But it drained away, millennium ago. As it went it washed a lot of fertile sediment off the mountains and left it in the low lands making our farmland very rich and black." "Oh, hey, I grew up in a farming country, I know what you mean. Hey! Of course! Zefielia is in part a large flat plain connected to this meandering river bed here! That's It! It was once a smaller lake fed by your big lake. That's why it's so fertile. And there is a swath of fertile land running from your mountains to our sea, right through my homeland. That's the answer why! It's the old river. Well, how about that! Now, I wonder where Zel is?"

But Zel didn't show up that day, which only added to Lina's worries. The women walked on until the setting sun and their tired feet demanded a halt. Looking around Lina found a farm house and was able to be made to part with her "last" silver coin in exchange for supper, permission to spend the night in the hayloft, and even breakfast the next morning. Lina had to restrain herself from eating as much as she wanted to, no sense getting the farmer upset with his paying guests, especially when one was a baby, and after some rather pleasant if earthy conversation with the farm family the women settled in for the night. Grace did give a bit of a whiney "The hayloft?" as they made what beds they could. Lina patted her shoulder and replied "I know, but it's safer this way, the animals are more likely to be disturbed by something sneaking around than the farmer would be, and we are away from the prying eyes of the family, since you want to remain hidden." "I know, I know..." said Grace sadly. "No it's okay, I did a few haylofts in my trekking days too, despite my delicate skin, and survived quite well. Alas, I'm just realising how soft I've gotten what with living in the keep and all. Actually, as I recover from Arthur, and after two months my strength is coming back, I assure you, I am going to get more with it! I don't know if I'll ever get all my girlish figure back, but by golly I'm going to get my girlish strength back so I can be all that I am able to be for the next baby!"

Her eyes twinkled at Lina despite the gathering gloom as she held little Arthur aloft and said "He's not going to be an only child if I have anything to say about it, and I do!" She then asked with curiosity "So, um Lina, I know this is a bit early for this question being as you are working on getting married yet, but have you ever thought about, you know, kids, and being a mother?" Lina thought for a bit then answered "Well, er, not in depth, but, uh, yeah, I think I'd like to have a family. Certainly I want more than two if I do have them, I grew up with a two girl family, not enough, or maybe it would have been okay if I had been the expected boy... Oh, nuts!" she ended suddenly, with a sniff as a painful memory washed over her. Grace came over and gave her a little hug and said "I'm sorry Lina, I didn't realise you had a pain associated with that question. I was just curious, I won't ask again." Lina hugged back and said, with a final sniff "Not your fault, I don't usually talk about the turbulent water that's under and over the bridge with me and my family, you couldn't know, and you didn't really ask about my past anyway, I took a question about my future and turned it backwards. But yeah, let's get to sleep."

With that the weary travelers settled in and spent a comfortable enough night. But it was cool, and they were glad to wake up and get started the next morning. Breakfast was a little short, by Lina's standards, but the farmer and his wife were pleasant, and soon the little troupe was back on the road. Lina was tired and felt she needed to wake up, and Grace wouldn't stop yawning. Even Arthur seemed determined to get his two cents in and fussed away despite Grace's best attempts to feed, change, and settle him.

As they walked along the baby continued to be fussy and Grace looked more and more tired. Finally Lina said "Grace? Would it be okay if I, um, held baby Arthur for a bit? You seem so tired, and I'd love to get a chance to snuggle him. Please?" Grace heaved a sigh, thought for a minute, and said "Well, alright, why not? But give him back at the first sign of trouble, you will need your hands free..." "Hey no worry there, Grace" was Lina's reply. "I won't leave your side or anything, just carry him." The precious bundle was handed over, and Lina found herself looking into a curious, if grumpy, pair of blue eyes. Every so often they would drift over to mama, just to make sure she was near by, and then go back to studying Lina. No fear, but a lot of curiosity. Lina smiled up at Grace and said, with a slight lump in her voice, "When I get Gourry back we are going to make one of our own..."

She looked back down at Arthur and then asked, with a blush and a giggle "Grace, um, what's it like? Having someone inside you I mean?" Grace had a bemused tone when she replied by asking "Why, whatever do you mean Lina? A man? Or a baby?" Lina's blushed deepened. "Er, both." she responded. "Hmm, well let's see," started Grace. "Wonderful and wonderful! Is that what you wanted?" she said with a smirking laugh in her voice. "Well, yes, and no." said Lina, turning as red as her hair. "He, he, okay, well, I can only speak as a woman in love and happy with one man." went on Grace. "Yes it is wonderful. When I'm with the King, like that, I feel as though an emptiness is filled. An emptiness I never knew I had before I fell in love, but one that I now know was there all along, just unrecognised. And I am speaking spiritually as much as physically here." Grace had a bit of a nervous giggle of her own now, and Lina wished she could see if the other woman was blushing. "And when you, um, you know, reach the peak, well, how do you describe the ultimate pleasure? And then you want, even need, him to have his turn, and it is only really complete when you are both satisfied and snuggled down together afterwards. You are so unbelievably close, well I can't describe it at all, you have to experience it. It's, it's a need, and a deep desire to both give and get pleasure, on both the physical and spiritual levels, and it leaves you feeling so close after that you can't wait till the next time!"

"Hmm," she went on, "and then one day you find the filling never stops, and you feel strange, and well, and unwell at times, oh it's hard to explain, then you, or some wise woman close to you, puts a name to what you feel, and you are in shock and bliss and fear, all at once. A new life is growing inside of you, under your heart. One your husband put there, at your invitation. He, he, and Queen or commoner, it's all the same in the end, you feel everything that can be felt, physically ill one day, an all powerful life giving goddess the next, only to find you get tired and wish it was over as your back aches and your breasts fill. And there is nothing to do but prepare and wait. Waiting will be the hard part I think, but believe it or not, it will likely be harder on the new daddy, so share everything with your husband, he won't want to be left out, oh, but, he, he, don't expect him to get it all! Well, but men are all different, so play that one by ear.

Finally, the day arrives! It starts out as a burst of energy, then gradually you notice the contractions start, and things build up from there. At times the pain is tolerable, at times it is intense. A good midwife is a gift from the gods! And then there is the miracle of water birth! A large tub of warm water greatly relieves a lot of the pain. I knew there was a reason I always loved my hot tubs!" Grace stopped and shook her head as she remembered, then went on. "Yes it hurts, no you don't remember the pain much afterwards as you hold your son and weep for joy. Oh, you remember that it hurt, don't get me wrong, but somehow, the joy that follows after the birth erases a lot of memory of the actual pain itself. At least, that's what happened for me. Every woman is different too. You, for example, are much smaller than I am, you may have more trouble than I did with a baby, on the other hand you might be one of those rare women who's body is so perfect for children that you sail through it and go "What's the fuss about?" I wish that for you, Lina. And then, well, then there is learning to be a mother, basically. Um, does that help?"

"Hmm, well, yes, I guess a lot of it is finding out for myself." said Lina after a moment's reflection. "I've met enough women who are disappointed with their men for one reason or another, it is good to hear that it isn't always bad..., Um, I just hope I can make enough milk with these petite breasts of mine." "Hmm, hmm," said Grace with a bit of a laugh. "Well, I had the opposite worry, being that I'm big in that way. I was afraid of drowning my baby, if you can imagine. Turns out that a healthy breast will some how take it's cue from the baby and make just enough milk, no matter what the physical size. That was a relief. See? I told you a good midwife is a godsend!" "Oh," said Lina, imagining herself with her baby at the breast, holding it close to her heart, while Gourry was seated behind them, holding the both of them close to his. She gave her head a shake, time for such overly sweet fantasies later. Right now she had a Queen and a real baby to guard.

"Okay, Grace," she said after awhile, "I could hold him all day, but I wouldn't be in a position to guard you if I do. Maybe I can hold him again when we camp?" she added, a little shyly. "Sure," said Grace, in reply. She took Arthur back and then said "Hmmmm, wet diaper, oh, but that was good timing, Lina!" "What? Er, no, ha, ha, really, I missed it, I'm sorry..." Lina said with a nervous giggle. "Teasing" said Grace. "Well, the diaper is wet, but it isn't your responsibility. Have you had much experience with babies?" "N-no." replied Lina. "Well, I was the baby in my family, but I don't remember being close to my mother, and my dad was warm, but often away trying to rustle up a coin or two."

Lina found herself wanting to explain to Grace, so she began to ell her some of her life story. "See, his dad had had a fight with his dad before him and lost the inheritance of the farm. So my grandfather got a piece of land and tried to make a go of it. Of course, the money crop where I come from is grapes, and it can take years to get a good crop going that makes money. My grandfather worked himself to an early grave rather than apologise, I think, and my dad had to try and make a go of it. Alas! When you farm for a living you drink gold and eat silver one year, and subsist on mud and ashes the next, depending on the crops. There was a time when there were several bad harvests, some due to weather, some due to war. My dad is also a swordsman in the army of the Eternal Queen, who is the ruler of Zefielia. Long story short, too much debt, not enough crop, and dad lost the farm. He had no choice but to sell the land at a reduced price and move us into a little place in town."

Lina sighed. "It didn't help that my mom was pregnant with me at the time, and, while I never got blamed for anything, I more than once got the feeling that, since I couldn't have been something useful, like a boy, what was I really doing here? Just another expensive dowry that couldn't be afforded. Of course, being older, my sister got a lot of the attention, and I got a lot of hand me downs. It's all perfectly logical to me now, but at the time it seemed unfair, and I had the temper to let everyone know about it too. But I never could explain my feelings, that I was always just second best to Luna, and why couldn't I be accepted for me?" Lina paused for a moment, feeling the old hurts afresh.

She went on "I did discover early on that I was magical and started training with an older woman in the town. It was fun and I learned quickly, and it never dawned on me that my parents had to have been bending over backward to pay for the lessons. Later I was even able to attend a local academy of the Sorcerer's Guild. I have no idea how they financed it, but in great hind site, I begin to see maybe this was one of the reasons my big sister went in to be a waitress. I knew it was to make extra money for the family, but I didn't think, as a kid, I was perhaps one of the drains on the budget.

I think they even denied Luna some things she wanted, which might be what set her off in the first place. Oi, we both have tempers, and I was a snot nose kid when she was becoming the world's most "perfect" teenager, and that's where the fights came from. My sister was a real terror, but I like to think I gave as good as I got. I left home early because of the tension between us, and I have been wandering and studying ever since. It has been a good life, but one devoid of maternal women or babies. I mean, I spent two years with Naga, can you imagine, she is about as un-maternal as you can get!"

"No, wait, you said you think she may have had a baby, if that's so things must have changed, but back when I knew her... Oh well, we were both weird then... and yet somehow, she was exactly what and who I needed, you know? She had as much of a temper, and she was as big a brat as I was, but somehow it never got, well, personal isn't the right word... well, it was not the same as it was with Luna. Naga and I could talk about anything, and I mean anything, well, except her past, for some reason. I don't know, we were both seeking to find ourselves, and we both had a lot of pain in our pasts that needed to be worked out. Somehow we just, understood each other, when we weren't fighting. And heck, once you got past all the surface stuff I told you the other day, even our fights seemed to be more about releasing emotional tension than about actual hatred. Hmm, I don't know if this is making any sense..." Lina lapsed into silence, old memories filling her thoughts. She began to feel uncomfortable, then noticed Grace was giving her a strange look again. "Eh?" Lina said finally. "Uh, pardon me Grace, but why do you give me a funny look whenever I talk about Naga?" "Do I?" said Grace, more softly than usual. "Hmm, it's probably just the way you seem to bless and curse the woman at the same time. How do you really feel about her, Lina? If you don't mind my asking, that is."

"Ho, oh no, I don't mind" said Lina. "After all, I'm the one who brought her up. What can I say? In some ways she was the sister I wish I had had. We started off with her destroying my property, and the hotel I was in, in order to announce that she was my rival for the title of the world's greatest sorceress! Back then I was insecure enough to be offended by the challenge, and the threat, and it stuck in my throat! And yet, somehow, by standing up to me like that, she was complimenting me, whether she meant to or not, and I think I picked up on that unconsciously, I don't know, maybe it was the "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" thing? See, if it had been my sister Luna, I'd have been called a lot of unsavoury names, and allusions as to my true parentage, such as my being a changeling, would have been made, and with a sneer too. Plus, by this time, Luna was revealed as one of the five knights of Ceified, and was undergoing training of her own, and I think it went to her head, the way being magical went to mine. Basically, I think she saw me as second rate upstart to be swept out of the way. Naga on the other hand was obviously proud and self assured, to the point of recklessness, and yet saw me as a challenge to overcome, in order to prove her worth. Of course, by then I already had a reputation as a good magician, whether the "World's Greatest" was actually justified I don't know, I suppose it really depends on what is meant by the word "Great!".

Anyway, just by challenging me, for her own ends, Naga gave my self confidence a boost it really needed, I was worth something to someone, for who I was! And, it didn't really change throughout our time together. Then finally we separated as traveling compaions. I'd bump in to her from time to time, and we'd either set to, or be friends. We even had one final adventure together where we stopped a Mazoku attempt to raise Shabradnigdo a second time, and I would have failed without her help. This was after I met Gourry and the others I now seem to adventure with, Zelgadiss for one, and Amilia, Crown Princess of Seirune another. And I must say I didn't miss her at first, life was grand, I had new friends and new adventures. I fought Shabradnigdo and won, as I said, and HellMaster Phibrizzo, and got so scared in the process that I actually did something right that didn't go to my head for a change. Then came the battle with Darkstar. After that she was gone, into the east as far as I was ever able to tell. I think of her on and off, and frankly, until a few days ago it had been off for awhile, but once I found out I was going east to meet you I found I thought about her a lot, and would wonder how she is doing. I do hope you are right about her being happy.

I would like to see her again, maybe we could just talk for a change." Lina sighed. "I suppose I am being very round about in answering your question aren't I? How do I feel about her? Well, we had what could only be called a love/hate relationship, but of the two I have to admit that love is by far the stronger feeling." She smiled to herself as she said that and thought, "Boy, I'm really cleaning house emotionally these last few weeks! If I don't watch it I'm going to wake up normal one of these days!" Lina looked up to Grace, who seemed quite taken with her words. "Um, do me one favour please Grace, please, please, please? If you meet her, don't ever tell her I said that? That I love her like a sister?" Grace seemed to take a deep, ragged breath, almost as if she had been moved to tears. "That was... is..., Oh Lina..." she finally said. "Touching?" said a voice. 


	9. iChapter8

Chapter 8 xxxxxxxxx

Three men were standing there, swathed in black outfits leaving only their eyes, and their weapons, showing. But more ominous, behind them stood what was without a doubt the most butt ugly Mazoku Lina had ever seen. Still, they might catch the world's best and most beautiful sorceress on the hop, but that would not mean they had an advantage over her! To prove it she managed to get the first insult in. "Well, a Mazoku. And here I was waiting for a real threat. Yeah, I know, you are as ugly as anything from a child's story, but having dealt with the likes of such pretty boys as Shabradnigdo, Hellmaster Phibrizzo, and even the ever so cute Xellos, I can tell you are a lot less scary than they are!"

"Big talk," sneered the Mazoku in his turn. "But of course, Lina Inverse is known for her big mouth. In fact, it's the only thing on her otherwise stunted body that IS big!" The monster gave a wicked laugh. Lina saw red, but forced her fingernails into her flesh. It was one thing to go berserk when people who could take care of themselves were around, it was another thing to lose it when there was a baby and a helpless mother beside her. Instead she responded, "I talk big? Ha, everyone knows that ugly Mazoku are so weak and powerless that they can't take a proper human shape! I bet from the looks of you that this baby here could put you in your place! Do your shy friends here realise they've hooked up with a really bottom of the barrel Mazoku? A real Mazoku-wannabe? Oh, no wait! Silly me! I get it now! They are busy taking their PET Mazoku out for a walk! Well, don't let us interrupt you!"

The Mazoku's eyes flashed red and Lina knew her barbs had gone home. "Good!" she thought. Now, if only they will attack me and leave Grace alone." The Mazoku barked something in an unknown tongue and the three men dashed forwards, towards Grace. Lina moved to protect her when the Mazoku yelled "Fire Ball!" and sent a massive wad of flame straight at Lina. Lina gave a scream and threw up a ward in the nick of time. "Flare Arrow!" she yelled back sending a speeding shaft of fire into the Mazoku who dodged rapidly. "Fire Ball, Fire Ball, Fire Ball!" it screamed, rapidly sending three red hot torpedoes at a rapidly twisting Lina. Lina roared in frustration, she was so busy with this damned creature she couldn't even see how Grace was doing. Time to change tactics. Alas there was no time to call up her trademark Dragon Slave, just when it would be really, really useful too.

"Elemikian Lance!" she said, launching a powerful beam of energy at her adversary. It twisted and spun and the attack missed. "Damn!" thought Lina, "The way this fight is going, who ever gets the first blow in wins!" "Flare Arrow, Flare Arrow, Flare Arrow!" she chanted sending a spread of fire bolts of her own off. One of them actually hit the Mazoku a glancing blow causing it to roar in pain and anger. But it hadn't lost it's head, for what it roared was "Bomb de Wind!" A sudden almost tornado like burst of wind caught Lina as she tried to twist away and tossed her to the ground. She rolled with the fall and came up in a crouch, but the Mazoku was already leaping on her. With a twist she avoided a big blade it was swinging at her, by a mere fraction. As she continued to roll the beast taunted her. "Low level eh? Well, Miss "I blew up Lord Shabradnigdo" you seem to be losing to me! You know what this "low life" Mazoku says to you about that?" "You surrender?" asked a rapidly twisting and turning Lina trying to buy time to get a spell ready before exhaustion set in. "Jolly joker!" laughed the Mazoku slicing the air and shaving a few of Lina's red lock free of her body. "What I say to you, Lina Inverse is this!"

"RA TILT!"

Lina was shoved to one side by the shockwave of an explosion that lifted the Mazoku off it's feet and threw it into the air over the trees that were lining the road, and off towards the horizon. Lina landed with a loud "OOOF!" and was breathless for a few seconds. With a gasp she got her breath back and rolled over to see... "ZEL! Where the hell have you been! Oh, er, and thanks, by the way." "Pleased to see you again too, Lina." replied Zelgadiss in a bland voice. He was staring down at a pile of body parts that looked like they had at one point been men swathed in black. Even their swords were shattered. "It's like when Gourry uses the Blast Blade!" said Lina, referring to the magical sword Gourry had carried since he surrendered the Sword of Light back to it's original owners from the Overworld when Darkstar was defeated. Suddenly Lina and Zel looked up at each other and said "Where is...?"

A quick scan showed a lone figure far down the road walking with a stiff stride. Running at top speed they soon caught up. "Grace!" cried Lina. "Your Majesty!" called Zelgadiss. "Lina, help me, I can't stop moving!" said a panicky Grace. Lina ran around and threw a big hug on the taller woman. She was shaking like a leaf. Little Arthur was also crying, having been upset by the violence. "It's okay Grace, we won! It's over! And look, Lord Zelgadiss is here, we're safe now." "Hey?" said Grace. "Good, good, it..., it's the blood, I, I can't stand the sight of it. Oh, someone, please take the dagger out of my right hand? I don't seem to be able to let go..." Zelgadiss gently pried the weapon loose. As he did so he cut himself on the blade. "What?" he said in amazement. "Lina, look, I'm bleeding..." "Hey?" said Lina in response. "Oh so you are..."

Zel shook his head. "No, no, knives don't usually cut me, this is a special blade!" "Star metal!" said Grace as Lina helped her sit on a log and settle Arthur, as well as her own rapid breathing. "It's made from metal that a falling star brought to earth in Westhold. Magic metal. Properly treated it made a blade so sharp it will cut through anything unless kept in a special sheath that dulls it while it is inside. It is called the "Blade of Heaven" since that's where it came from." Lina gasped. "That sounds like the Blast Blade!" "But..." Grace went on "The story goes that a bigger piece was seen streaking towards the west when it fell. The dagger has been the property of the Royal Sorcerer or Sorceress since."

"Is that you Grace?" asked Lina boldly. Grace looked up sharply, fear still in her eyes, but with her old composure coming back with Lina's challenge. "I am the Queen! And Mother of the Heir Apparent!" she said in a low dangerous voice still vibrating with the emotion of the fight. Lina looked into her eyes, and saw the fear. For a second their eyes locked. Then Lina backed down and said "Forgive me Your Majesty. I meant no offence, I just forgot myself." Grace gulped. "Me too," she said, rocking back and forth on the log, partly to settle the baby, but partly to settle herself too. "I am sorry Lina, it was a logical question. I was lent it for this mission. Um, distract me, tell me about this Blast Blade you say is like the Blade of Heaven?"

"As for that," said Lina "My Gourry used to carry the Sword of Light which he had by right of decent being a Gabriev from the island of Mispross, though the family now lives in the kingdom of Elemikia, and direct descendant of a famous son of the island named Rowdy Gabriev." Grace gave Lina a surprised look. Lina went on "After we fought and repelled the invasion of Darkstar, the Overworld's equivalent of our Shabradnigdo, it was revealed that the Sword of Light had originally come from the Overworld where it was needed to fight Dark Star. Gourry gave it back. For a while he carried ordinary blades, until one day, he broke one of the swords he had, and hidden in the middle of it was the Blast Blade, put there to hide and protect it until the worthy one should find it. Gourry was that one. Fortunately the blade it was hidden in had been encased in a magical sheath, and the magic runes on the Blast Blade react to the magic symbols of the sheath and the blade dulls so it won't cut the sheath."

"Mispross..." whispered Grace, shaking her head in wonder. Lina gave her a hard look. "You do know more than you are letting on, don't you, Grace?" "Yes..." said Grace softly. She looked up at Lina with pleading in her eyes. "Please Lina, just wait till we get there, I'll answer all your questions in Seirune..."

"Of course she will wait!" said Zelgadiss coming up suddenly. "Listen up! The reason I didn't meet you earlier is that I was attacked by a bunch of those hooded men. I think this area is full of them. You only had three to deal with, because they must have thought the Mazoku made them strong. I don't think they will make that mistake again. We have to go, and quickly. Here's the plan, best one I can come up with on such short notice. They drove off the horses so we have to walk anyway, but because we have no horses we can go where the horses could not have gone, across country through the forest to our left, making for the old path to Seirune. It isn't perfect but it might throw them off our trail."

Zel went on "Your Majesty..." "Call her Grace, it's what she wants" interjected Lina. "Uh, okay, Grace" said Zel picking up his thoughts again, "who are those masked men?" "I know little about them." Grace replied, the fear in her voice obvious. "They are called Shadow Warriors by our people, what they call themselves I don't know. It is said they are taught the way of the warrior from the womb, and that it is all they know." "Great, commandos!" said Zel. "Okay, we won't out fight them in a group unless we want to use enough magic to bring every Mazoku that might be within a hundred miles down on our heads. The forest is our only hope. Everybody rested? Nobody hurt? No? Then we need to go, now!" "Wait!" said Lina. "What do we have for provisions? Water?" "Won't need either if we are dead." responded Zel. "Come now, both of you, we can talk later. Keep your ears open!" ordered Zel. With reluctance the two women followed the Chimera into the forest.

For several hours Zel kept pushing them south into the trees. It was tough going and they were all sore and scratched by the time they reached a little dell in the forest. He finally called a rest. Maybe because Lina was finding ways, although technically silent, of making her mounting displeasure quite known. Worse, Grace had found her own ways to do the same thing, and the baby was fussing again, far from silent. As they hunkered down Lina hissed "This is going to kill us Zel!" "Peace Lina." was Zel's reply.

"Listen carefully. What I said about the old road was a ruse, I didn't know if we were being observed or not. I wanted them to think we were heading for the old road. Here is the real plan. I'm going down a mile till I hit a small river then I will come back doing my best to leave no trail. Let them think we went into the river. We'd have to cross it to reach to old path anyway. You two will take that deer path there" he pointed at a barely visible track, "and keep going up and to the south west. Make for the cliffs of Arbour." "What? How is that any better!" snapped Lina. Zel went on "Go with no noise and no marks. When you get there, rest. I will try to join you as soon as I can. The plan is simple, Lina. When you are strong enough, take Grace and fly around the mountains of the Cauldron range. Seirune is on the other side."

Lina looked at him dumbfounded. Finally she found her voice. "You are mad!" she announced in a pleasant tone, belying the seriousness of her words. Grace buried her face in her hands. "Yeah, maybe." said Zel. "But I am also open to other ideas..." "Strike for Zefielia!" said Lina. "When we get there I will do what ever it takes, kiss whatever I have to, to get my sister Luna to go with us. She is a Knight of Ceiphied! She once did in a bloody swamp dragon with a kitchen knife, she can even use a sword to cut a Dragon Slave apart, and I'm not joking! We can make it safely and alive with her. And we can still give them the slip, they are thinking we are going south when we will be going west! We can do it Zel!"

"You still have to climb the highlands to get there." said Zel. "Not easy, the land due west is even steeper than the route I suggested. Impossible I think for someone with a baby. To get her over you still have to Levitate. And anyone in the area who can sense magic will be on to you. Then when you land, you'll be tracked. And I bet the first thing they did was man the roads and towns. You walk into Zefielia and you will be marked! All they have to do is kill Grace and they win. You might not make it to your sister's place to ask her anything. One arrow, that's all it takes." Lina still wanted to argue but Grace put out her hand and touched her gently on the shoulder. She turned to face the other woman, and Grace said in a quiet, pleading voice "He's right Lina, one shot and it's over. His plan, as impossible as it seems is our best chance, I'm sorry. I believe in you Lina, we can fly..."

Lina looked at Grace a long time, her hard features softening. She took the other woman's hand and hugged it to her cheek. "Okay Grace..." she said softly. "We will fly." She looked over to Zel and said "I guess you win..." "It's the lesser of many great evils Lina, I'm sorry. Here take this." He handed her his pack. "It has all my water and food that didn't run off with the horses. When you get to the hills eat, you'll need your strength. And sleep. Flying at night might be safer, or riskier, you decide, but be gone by sunrise at the latest. I will go mark a path like I said, and catch up with you if I can, but do not delay. If I don't come I may just be slow, or I may just be captured or dead. Get Grace to Seirune." "Yes." said Lina. She then picked up the packs and said "Let's go, and may the Golden Lord of Nighmares allow us to meet again." Zel did a double take, Lina was not noted for her religious sentiment. He stood up. "You start up the hill first." he said. "I'll wait a bit and start going in with more noise, let them think I'm us." Lina nodded. Grace bowed and said "Thank you Lord Zelgadiss." "Go, go!" said Zel.

Now they pushed themselves. Upwards and onwards, carefully and slowly, no marks. They hoped. They heard a distant Zel say "Let's go!" and then stomp off down the hill towards the river. They kept on with their silent climb. The sun was starting to set and Lina hoped they wouldn't miss anything important when it got to be the gathering gloom. The path seemed to become steeper as they went on, and up. At times it seemed rather ridiculous and Lina was wondering if they would have to levitate from here. Miraculously the baby seemed to stay asleep. Finally things seemed to level out, even the trees seemed thinner. However, it was only a small relief. Just as they reached the top the afternoon deepened with a vengeance, and the bugs started to come out. "Oh great, mosquito city..." muttered Lina. Surprisingly Grace had the answer.

"Here" she whispered handing Lina a small jar of ointment with a strange but not unpleasant flowery smell. "Huh?" asked Lina. "Insect repellent. They hate the smell." Grace explained. "There really are gods!" exclaimed Lina as she started to spread the stuff on. "Hey! It really works too!" she giggled happily, grateful for small mercies. After a few minutes to get their breath they went on, insects whining in their ears in the oppressive heat.

It continued to darken and with the darkness came the slow cooling that brought relief. "I hope there's water up here." said Lina. "I'm so thirsty..." "Yeah, me too" said Grace. "I think I'm so dehydrated my milk isn't coming in like it should. I hope I can satisfy Arthur, he won't sleep much more, he's already starting to stir." They went on but no water appeared to solace the weary travellers and they didn't dare strike off from their route, lest they get lost or miss Zelgadiss. Finally, after the sun had set, and the twilight was darkening they came out of the forest. "Yikes!" cried Lina as she almost stepped off the edge of the cliff. "Cliffs of Arbour indeed!" she said looking down at the dark drop. "Let's find a safe place to camp. Fire and light are out of the question tonight." After some hunting around they found a large boulder with a hollow under it. "Might keep the wind out." said Lina. "I hope it doesn't rain." Grace had already curled up under the rock. Lina lay beside her too exhausted to care about much else except rest right now. But she shook herself up.

"Oh great, we need to set a watch tonight. I'll go first, and I'll call you when I can't stay awake any more." "I'm afraid I must accept that offer, Lina." said a weary Grace. Then she rolled over and rummaged in the packs and crawled over to Lina. "Here." she said handing some packages to Lina. "And here." she said handing over something squishy. "What's this?" asked Lina, puzzled. "The last of our food, and the food and a full water bottle in Zel's pack I didn't know we had. Take them and eat and drink please." "Huh? No, you have some too." said Lina. "No Lina, you take it." replied Grace. "You see, it won't be nice, but I can do without food or water for a day and make up the short fall in Seirune. What I can't do is survive the long fall if you are too weak with hunger or thirst to carry us and levitate properly tomorrow." Lina gulped. "Good point. I'll eat the food, but at least share the water, Grace." "No Lina, you will need it, please take it all." With that the exhausted Queen crawled under the rock again and in a few minutes the slow regular breath of sleep was heard.

Lina shook her head, and started to eat. She was so tired it was hard to do, she was actually not hungry, but she knew it took time for food to become energy for the body and that tomorrow morning would be too late, so, pacing herself so as not to get sick, she ate the food. And drank the water. "I wish I could use magic to find some more." she thought. With that she kept her lonely watch. She wanted to watch as long as she could, but realised she'd have to wake Grace sometime, she couldn't Levitate without sleep either. She looked over to the sky and took in the beauty of the waning half moon, already due south in the deep evening sky.

Suddenly, the sky was dark! And the bright face of the moon was replaced by a shadow that might have been a mockery of a face! "Ahhhh?" gasped Lina standing up in a flash. "FIRE-" "BY THE GODS LINA! IT'S ME" came a hoarse half shout, half whisper from... "Zel? Is that you?" Where did you come from? What happened to the sky? I was looking at the moon as the twilight deepened, now it's gone and the sky is dark, where did the light go?" replied Lina, confused. "It's okay Lina." replied Zel, still crouching down from dodging Lina's fireball, which fortunately never actually was cast. "The sun and moon have set a long time ago, and it is the dark before the dawn we are entering now." "Oh, no, no, no." sobbed Lina quietly. "I was on watch! I fell asleep! Thank the gods only you found us." she went on, feeling guilty. "How could I do this? I broke my trust!" "You are as human as the rest of us, is all, Lina" said Grace's quiet voice. "Anyway, Lord Zelgadiss..." "Please, Grace, just Zel." interjected Zelgadiss. "Okay, okay, anyway, Zel was here maybe an hour, hour and a half after us. We made good time coming up that ridge, that's one reason you are tired. And none of us have rested well since the trip started, plus you had to make the trip out in the first place." "Thanks Grace," said Lina glumly. "But I've been tired and sore and what not before, and still forced myself to do what I had to. This is..., is...,"

Grace came over and hugged her as she sniffled. "Lina, it happened, we survived, it's okay. Beat up on yourself if it gives you any pleasure, but do it when we get to safety, it isn't over yet. But, you are a human after all, as are we all, even Zel, though I get the impression he doesn't think so." "Was a human..." said Zel, glum in his turn. "No, you are a human, you just won't accept it Zel." said Lina starting to sound better. "You're right Grace, thank you. I have to accept that even if I am the greatest sorceress this world has ever seen, even I am not perfect, he, he." She hugged the bigger woman back and whispered "You could be my sister too..." Grace gave quiet gulp and replied "There is an old saying that says that there is a friend that can be closer than a brother. I think that works for sisters too..."

Lina hugged her for a second or two longer then said "Well, I am awake now I suppose, so I better take this watch." "Are you sure?" asked Grace. "I can sleep, or at least rest, maybe, tomorrow, when we are in flight. I have had some sleep, and Zel and I have traded a watch already. In fact, we were just changing again, we probably woke you up." "You let me sleep so long?" said Lina a bit flabbergasted. "Why?" "Well, you needed it, and, well, I need you well rested for tomorrow" responded Grace. "Ah, an ulterior motive, I should have guessed" said Lina with a chuckle. "No, I'm awake. You sleep. You need to be able to hold Arthur all the way." "Right..." said Grace, with a worried tone in her voice. "Well, goodnight then."

Lina turned to Zel and asked "So, what's your story? Where were you?" "I went down to the river and filled some water bags, oh that reminds me, here" he said, and handed one over to Lina. "Oohh, water..., thanks!" she said enthusiastically as she opened the bottle and drank. "Ahhhhh, that's better! Go on please, Zel" "Well, I then doubled back quietly and without leaving a track, as well as I could. I didn't come right back along the same path, which was lucky. I was able to look over the path I had followed, and suddenly two shadow warriors were slinking along the track. That was close! I made it back to the path I sent you up without seeing them return. I set down in an ambush position and waited, but no one came up the path and after awhile I moved on.

I went quietly and with great stealth, pausing every now and again to see or hear if anyone was following. Eventually I made it here, and found you asleep. So I kept watch, and eventually Grace woke up and we spelled each other off, and nothing has happened. So here we are. Now, if you are truly awake, I could use more sleep, I'm afraid. Hope you don't mind." "No, it's okay." said Lina. With that Zel turned in and soon was snoring lightly under his cloak. Lina walked around and tried to slap some warmth into her limbs. She would have loved a fire, but it was too dangerous. She looked up at the sky and marvelled at the clear hard stars. What were they really, she wondered. Oh well, some day she might know. She listened to the hushed night noises as the earth herself seemed to sleep, resting on the uncertain bed of the Golden Lord. She used the time to think about all that had happened, starting with the strange journey she was on, and ultimately wandering back into her past, wondering how to undo certain things, how to strengthen others.

More than just running away from Luna, Lina had left home on a quest to find herself, so far it was the one thing that had truely eluded her. All she had done, all she had seen, and she still didn't know who she was. Oh well. That too was something she might know one day. As she thought the last of the night wore on. Seeing the morning light start to glow on the horizon she turned her attention to the up coming flight. Flying with Levitation was not new for her. It was similar to her more usual Ray-Wing spell, but, whereas Ray-Wing was meant for covering short distances very quickly, Levitation was meant for going over long distance, often under load. The trade off was the speed. Levitation was much slower than Ray Wing. Still, Levitation was the only spell likely to carry them the distance. But, oh, what a trip! Never had she flown so far. She really didn't know how she was going to do it, and carrying Grace and Arthur at the same time! Well, Zel could fly too, he'd have to help, that's all there was to that!

Soon enough, Lina was rousing the still tired sleepers. "Awake, awake!" she said in a low but commanding voice as she shook the sleeping form of Zel. Zel got up groggily and looked around. Surprisingly he even muttered the opening lines from an old poem as he looked to the east at the growing light. "Awake, for the Hunter in the Bowl of Night, has loosed the stone that puts the stars to flight!" "Right..." said Lina, then she went on "I've been thinking Zel, and we need a bit of a plan. It's going to take all day to clear the mountains, the distance is too great. We will have to stop at least once, I don't think we will be able to fly on without resting."

Zel yawned, the big yawns of someone who is sleepy still, not the little ones of someone waking up, and looked up to Lina. "First order of business, lighten our load, we take with us only what we must." he said, sounding a bit groggy. "We won't need our blankets again, one way or the other. And we can finish off what's left of the water now. There is no food, thanks to the horses being driven off, and no time to hunt for any more. I guess we had better all, er, use the bushes before we go, he, he." Lina chuckled. It wasn't much of a joke, but under their circumstances it was good to laugh at anything. "Yes, that's one load we can definitely, um, dump! Hey Grace, sorry, it's time to wake up!" she said.

Soon enough a thoroughly dishevelled Grace crawled out of the rock. "I was dreaming, of all things, of a bath. Not my husband, or my baby or of anything else more important, just a bath." She shook her head and gave a giggle. "Oooo, but my skin crawls. If I get any riper, I might be able to float on my own..." Lina smiled and nodded her head. "I know exactly what you mean!" she said. "Well, nothing to it but to get on with it. We are lightening our load by discarding what we can." "Oh, well, I need some of my baby supplies, a few diapers at least, my dagger, and please, can I take this?" she asked as she rummaged in her bag. "It's a white dress I've been hauling around to dress up a bit more formally when I meet Prince Phil. Everything else, except what I'm wearing now, can stay behind. Um, I will guess we need one sack to carry anything we don't leave behind?" "Well," spoke up Zel. I guess you better use your diaper bag then." said Zel. "And we will each take one small water bottle, empty for now. One weapon each, the clothes on our backs, and that's about it." "Oh! This is going to be so hard!" said Lina suddenly, holding up the small but heavy little bag of gold, silver, and jewels she had been given from King Alfred.

Zel took the bag and quickly fished out a handful of rubies and emeralds. "I have a bit of gold in Seirune currency on my person, it will be enough, along with my supposedly royal person, to get us anything we may desire in Seirune. We are not stopping until we are at least in her boarders." He gave the stones to Lina, who smiled gratefully, and tossed the rest aside with the other things on the discard pile. Lina looked at the little sack for a few seconds then wrenched herself away and said, more to herself than any one else, "If you can't let something valuable go in greatest need, you are already enslaved, or worse..." Zel nodded. A few minutes later, the little band stood at the edge of the cliff, gathering courage for the flight. After a bit of debate, they had rigged a rope harness to Grace and agreed to try taking it by turns to carry her, so one of the magic users would always have their hands free to give battle if needed while the other flew their "cargo" to the ground. "Gee, thanks..." said Grace at being described as such.

Soon, although it seemed like forever, they were ready. Lina looked out at the rising sun and said, "Gee, and we left Westhold only three days ago. What have we come, about fifty miles?" More like sixty." said Zel. Lina replied "Well, now I understand why I fell asleep. Better than forty miles in two days, better than twenty miles the third, the last through rough terrain, trying to be quiet, and now we fly. I'm going to sleep for a week, I know it. And it's going to start tonight, no matter where we are." Zel nodded. "Yes, this is a pace we can't sustain, let us hope it is enough to put our enemies off the track." "I wish I could help..." said Grace with a note of regret in her voice. "It's okay Grace, this is our job anyway, we are the magic users here." said Lina lightly. Grace said nothing.

Zel, who was carrying her first, moved behind her and took up the ropes. Lina realised that Grace was taller than Zel even, and shook her head. People were so different! After a final check of the harness, and a double check by Lina, Zel gathered himself together and muttered a spell. "Levitation." he suddenly commanded and he floated into the air, taking Grace and her son with him. Lina also did her thing and was floating beside him. A last quick check of their bearings, and they were off. Pacing themselves they still managed to put on speeds of ten miles an hour or better, crossing in a couple of hours as much distance as most people could cover in a day of hard marching. More actually, because they were going in a straight line, and the ground, a thousand or so feet below, was decidedly not straight.

For a while it went up and down and around trees, eventually clearing to farmland rolling on beneath them. To their left were the mountains of the Cauldron range, a vast circle of low mountains with a lone central peak in the middle and a depressed lowland plain running between the central spike and the mountains. It sort of resembled a shallow cauldron, hence the name. It had been a high range in most people's sight for a long time, but now, from the air, it looked low, especially compared to the jagged peaks of Westhold. "Wow," said Lina softly, "It looks like someone blew up something really big there and shoved all the soil out in a ring, scraping it down to the bare rock." "Yeah, I know," replied Zel. "It's kind of like the craters you leave after a good Dragon Slave, Lina, only more so. I wonder, did some ancient cast a Giga Slave here once?" "That's scary." said Grace.

They lapsed back into silence, for they had agreed to keep talk to a minimum to save energy. As the morning progressed, a long and silent one, the strain started to show on Zelgadiss, but he said nothing, for a long time. Finally however, the task was taking it's toll and they had to stop. They came down onto a deserted wooded hill near a stream. Zel almost immediately threw himself down on the ground exhausted and panting for air. Lina too was winded, flying was hard work. Grace, who had rested, immediately gathered their water bottles and set off for the stream. She was soon back with the water which was gratefully downed. She disappeared again, and just as Zel and Lina were getting their wind back and starting to worry, she reappeared with a couple of handfuls of wild strawberries and a large mushroom! "Eat." she said. "It isn't much, but I hope it helps. The snack was accepted too, and Grace was even persuaded to at least taste one. "Mmmmm, but no more, or I'm going to want back what I just gave you. I'm so hungry, but, I suppose it keeps me lighter this way. How far did we come?" she asked.

Zel looked up at the sky and gave a low whistle. "Wow, we did better than I thought, it's almost noon and we left shortly after the dawn. Okay, we have been five or maybe even six hours in the air. No wonder I feel like I just added a large weight of lead to my chimera make up. We rest now until the sun is past noon, that's for sure. I reckon we have come fifty miles as the crow flies. Let's see, that puts us on the south-eastern slopes of the mountains, and another fifty or sixty miles flying to Seirune city. Or about forty miles to our favourite inn, eh Lina?" Zel and Lina laughed at that, leaving Grace to puzzle out what the joke was. They then gave her a description of what happened and Grace rolled on the ground with laughter, biting her finger to stop from laughing out loud. "Oops!" said Zel. "She's right though. We better keep quiet, even here!"

Lina nodded her head, still smiling, then a thought struck her. "Hey Zel, for what it's worth, there is a loop of the main road that runs from the inn, to that crossroads where we decided not to pass through Zefielia that might be even closer, and puts us down only a few miles from the inn. What do you think? Might be safer to set down somewhere that has no actual identifiable land mark?" "Might be" said Zel. "Hmm, but it will be afternoon, and we will still have, what, twelve miles to walk? We'd get in at evening. Make it harder for danger to spot us, but also harder for us to spot danger. And there will be a lot of people around, crowds can be good and bad too. Tell you what, let's nap on it and decide before we leave." "Uh, sure" said Lina, suddenly yawning at the thought of a nap. "Go ahead." said Grace. "I am awake and will stand watch." "Done!" said the other two at the same time. In a few minutes they were asleep.

Lina was sure it was a cruel trick of Grace's to wake her up the instant she had dozed off, but after grumbling about too many early starts, and looking at the sun, she had to admit it was sometime between two and three, and they really did nap. Zel also had some ideas of his own regarding what made for a nap, but he was too reserved to grumble anywhere near as long as Lina did. "Okay," he said with a yawn. Decision time..."

"It'll be evening no matter where we go to." said Lina. "I just don't know if the road is safer or not." "I vote the hotel." said Zel. "We'll get there at dark and may be able to sneak in to town. If I can get a secure place and a messenger we can have a guard by morning at the latest. And maybe get a sleep before then." "Hmmm," said Lina. "I guess so, as long as no one looks up. It's the height of summer now and the light lasts a long time." "Well, let's come in high and see what things are like. We may have to land out of town and sneak in, but it will be better than the long road I think. Grace?" The woman thought for a minute then said "I think the hotel is the best balance of the three plans too. I don't know fully what to make of it, but if we are caught on the road there will be no help, and I'm willing to bet we can't make Seirune City in a flight, we will need to land somewhere, so it may as well be where people are. But if we can sneak in it would be better."

"Okay, we have a plan." said Lina. But if our strength fails, I think the road is our alternate, or as close as we can get." "Pretty rough country for a forced landing but I think you are right Lina." said Zel. With that it was decided. Lina took the ropes this time. Grace just shook her head. "Sorry, I guess I don't inspire much confidence do I Grace?" she asked. Grace chuckled. "No, Lina, I have every confidence in you! I was just thinking what this must look like if anyone should see us. A regular flying circus act!" She gave a chuckle and the others laughed too. "Well, that lightened our spirits if nothing else." said Lina. "Speaking of lightening, everyone drink up, then we ditch the water bottles, I'm afraid. Just one full one, to save on weight." put in Zel. Soon all was done. Zel gave a last look and said "Let's go." The chants were chanted, the commands given and they were off again.

At first it was okay, rather like the morning, but they were more tired and as the flight wore on they could feel their energy slipping away faster. If they had been able to eat, but no, they just had to keep going. Grace swung under Lina and observed that Arthur seemed to like the motion. At any rate he slept through most of the flight, although there were some daring diaper changes along the way. "I wonder what the farmer who's field that will land on will think?" joked Grace as she let one of the soiled cloths go. Likewise, sometime in the middle of the flight, the last of the water was drunk, and the watter bottle too was let go. As before, there wasn't much talking. Zel and Grace looked around a lot, scanning for trouble, and Lina resolutely kept going straight forward.

As the afternoon wore on she remarked to Zel "There really ought to be a different spell for this. I'll have to do some research after this is over." "I'll help." he replied. "Me too." said Grace. "At least, I'll make sure our resources are at your disposal for the research." "Well that would help." said Lina, beginning to sound winded. "How are you doing?" asked Zel. "Won't last much longer," replied Lina, "But look, I can make out the general lay of the land for the village! I'll make it! Gee, it is brighter up here, we're still in the sun, ha, ha. Zel, scoot ahead and scout out a landing spot so I can go straight to it." she said. "I'm on it." he replied, casting a Ray-Wing spell and speeding off to the village.

He did a few high passes and then, when he felt daring enough, he swooped low and looked around. No one noticed him in the air, but there were a lot of people around none the less. Finally he made his decision and flew back to Lina who was beginning to pant like a long distance runner needing the end of a marathon. He grabbed a rope and helped take a bit of the strain off of Lina and said "Our best bet is a silent landing on the roof of the inn." Lina managed a "You're crazy!" look but was too winded to argue. Zel explained "It isn't dark enough to risk a landing on the ground yet, and you aren't going to be able to hover for half an hour until it is. The inn is one of the highest roofs around and if we make no noise we have a good chance of not being seen. Then we can rest and when it's safe we float to the ground and get inside." "Okay" Lina puffed. She could see the roof now, still a ways off, and steeled herself to go the last of the distance. A short time later, although it seemed long enough to Lina, they drifted down to the roof and made a silent if precarious landing on the peak.

"Water..." was the first thing Lina said on touch down as she collapsed in a heap onto Grace. "Get off, you'll set the baby to crying!" was Grace's somewhat panicked response. Zel helped Lina down and said "Be careful and be quiet. We're on the peak of a steep roof about thirty feet off the ground! We don't want to fall, and we can be heard." "Water..." said Lina again, as she lay there panting. "In a few minutes." said Zel. "We can't go down until it is safe." "Water..." repeated Lina. Grace gave a quiet snigger and said "Someone's playing for attention." Zel shook his head and said "Yeah, I think so too." "Fireball..." panted Lina, although she didn't cast the spell. Still, it was enough to make the other two back off. "Don't do that Lina!" said Grace. "Yeah" added Zel. With our luck it'll go off." "Water..." said Lina one last time, and then she sat up, looking pathetic.

Zel peeked over the roof and said "I think it's dark enough, but we need to wait till everyone goes away. There aren't too many people still out, give it a minute more okay?" Lina just looked pathetic with her mouth open. Grace was obviously trying to settle Arthur, who, perhaps missing the motion of the flight, didn't want to be settled. She finally got him to sort of eat, although he wasn't really hungry and she said "Make it soon, or Arthur will give us away in the end I'm afraid. Damn this fate that makes me have to run like this. I don't mind so much for me, I need to get toughened up again, but he's a new baby, he should be living the soft life right now, as all new babies should!" "Next time, travel with guards." said Lina. "Wait till you hear all that I have to say then tell me what was right Lina. I did the best I could in a hurry, as did Alfred, but, who says we got it right..." replied Grace with a resigned tone. At that moment Zel walked over and grabbed the women by their respective belts and said "Let's go, it's clear, Levitate!"

With that he floated them up, over the end of the roof and down to the ground. He landed at the back of the inn and hustled the girls into the shadow of a wood pile. He then knocked on the back door. Someone answered and was sent scuttling for the landlord. There were some low words, a flash of gold as a coin was exchanged, and the ladies were brought over and hustled in to the house. They scooted up some back stairs and were shown to a small room. Once there Zel explained "The owner will feed us and put us up tonight. He will send a messenger to Seirune City as well. We aren't going to be able to go any farther without a guard, and we can have one here by morning, we just have to keep hidden until then. And baths. There is a small tub in that room, he will send up some clothing and hot water, we can change, get washed, and eat and sleep. And he and his assistant will keep quiet until tomorrow. It's the best I could do, sorry, but we need sleep. "Water..." said Lina. "Not again" said Zel rolling his eyes.

Fortunately Lina didn't have to wait long. Food and drink were soon brought up, and hot water set for the bath. "Here, you eat while I bathe!" said Grace as she downed a drink of water herself and headed to the bathing room with Arthur. Soon she could be heard splashing and playing with her son in the water. Lina drank like there was no tomorrow and Zel also raised several cups, all of them water. Then they set to on the food. Yet, for all her hunger Lina found she was so exhausted that she couldn't eat like she wanted to. She kept falling asleep over her meal and after only three courses, was vaguely aware of Zel tucking her into bed. 


	10. jChapter9

Chapter 9 xxxxxxxxx

She woke up with a pop to find it was morning. "Oh great!" she thought, "Now I'm getting myself up too early." Suddenly she realised that there was bustle in the room. The steam from the little room spoke of a fresh bath, and a large breakfast was set on the table. She looked around feeling a bit bewildered. A tall woman in a white gown and veil was standing by the window, snuggling a baby. Something in her mind clicked and she realised it was "Grace! Uh, morning, right?" Grace replied cheerfully, although still quietly "Good Morning Lina! We let you sleep in. Look! Price Phil sent a guard, I think they are the palace guards."

"Yes they are, Majesty. They are our elite troops!" said a voice. Lina turned to see "Deirdre! Is your Mistress here too?" she asked of Amilia's personal maid. "Good morning, Miss Lina!" the maid responded with a smile. "No she's not here, but she sent me with the guard to help make sure all was right. Look, she even sent fresh clothes for you. But first, you're taking a bath!" Lina bounced out of bed with a laugh, feeling strangely refreshed. "Yes Ma'am!" she said as she went to the bathing room. Soon she was settled in the small but deep tub, soaking away without a care in the world. Deirdre brought her some tea and bade her soak but not too long, or breakfast would be cold, and then they had to start on the last leg of the journey. Lina did just that and was out and wearing clean clothes in short order.

Sitting at the table she proceeded to also make short order of the mound of food. Someone had anticipated this and a cart was brought in with more. Zel also came in and said "Lunch without end awaits in Seirune Lina, so, after this course we need to start." "Huh!" replied Lina. "And how am I going to fight any Mazoku on the way if I don't eat enough?" "Prince Phil sent a couple of wizards with the knights and I think we can probably get there safely enough." he replied. Lina frowned at this and said "One more course! Or I'm not budging!" as she continued to eat. Zel rolled his eyes and said "Okay, but only one." and stalked out to order it.

Grace sat down on the chair across the table from Lina. Lina said to her "That is a lovely gown Grace!" between mouthfuls. "Thank you. Yes actually it is, isn't it?" Grace replied. It was a long gown mostly made of white fabric. Lina could see, now that Grace was close, that although it wasn't adorned with gold thread or rich gems it was cunningly cut and made to grace the body of it's wearer. She could also see that someone had spend a long time embroidering it so that it had a subtle beauty that actually was more effective than a lot of flashy gems could have been. "I must say that growing up poor I always thought of beauty as being a lot of rich and flashy things." said Lina, now tapping her fork on the plate waiting for round three. "But since going to Westhold, I see that subtle things can be more beautiful if done right." "Yes." said Grace. "And it is so much more soothing to the spirit and the mind. Flashy has it's place, but a single point of flash, properly set in a subtle background will actually be more appealing than a chest full of glitter could ever be. When this is over, come, stay awhile as my guest and see for yourself!"

"I sure will Grace, er, when what is over?" asked Lina. "Why my mission of course." replied Grace, quietly. She went on "Listen Lina, I have something very important to say to Prince Phil after I present my credentials and hopefully reassure him he has nothing to fear from Westhold. I would appreciate it if you would stay and listen. You'll understand everything then, I think." "It would be an honour Grace. Or, should I go back to "Your Majesty" now?" Grace laughed silently and finally said "Only formally Lina, only formally. Trust me!" And she gave Lina another of her strange looks. "Ah, okay, sure." said Lina a bit warily. She thought to herself "I don't know what the surprise is, but it seems like it will be big. Oh boy."

Just then the final course arrived, and was hastily devoured by Lina. "Okay, I can make it to lunch!" she announced, getting up from the table. The group shuffled outside and quickly mounted the waiting horses. Grace had thrown a cloak around her to keep as much dust off of her as possible for the trip. It looked hot and the sun was shining warmly already. Lina noticed she rode side saddle because of her gown. "You need pants!" said Lina. Grace laughed and said softly "Yes, so I see. I will look in to it when we get home. It's time to lead custom rather than follow it I think." A few shuffles later and the guards were in position. Then they were off.

Lina gave a wave to the throng of onlookers from the village and they were down the road to Seirune. It was a pleasant day, and the horses maintained a good distance eating steady trot. If it had been an ordinary ride it would have been quite enjoyable, but Lina, despite the presence of the guards and even the royal wizards was not able to relax and let her own guard down for the trip. From the looks of it, neither were Zel or Grace, although she seemed more preoccupied making sure Arthur was safe as they trotted along. "I never was the world's best horse woman" Grace muttered. "Actually, I did better with wagons, or anything moving I could stand on." "Well, you could stand on the horse." suggested Lina with a smirk. "Oh, ha, ha, how droll..." replied Grace, but with a smile in her voice.

The trip wore on and Lina wished they could hurry up before her stomach started to growl, she was still hungry. And tired. Yesterday had really taken it out of her. She also looked forward to the end of the mystery and maybe getting a good night's sleep with someone else responsible for the guarding of everyone for a change. The horses were fit and fast however, and in the early afternoon Seirune City was looming in front of them, having covered in a few hours a trip that would have taken most of the day for someone on foot. Grace seemed to be fixed just staring at it, and Lina couldn't tell what might be going through the Queen's mind. Certainly the end of the mission. And then? Time would tell. At least Lina felt glad that she had had the chance to make a friend of the woman and for that she was really grateful.

In no time at all they were being swept through the gates of the city to a fanfare of horns. Lina looked towards Grace and said "I think we made it." The other woman merely nodded. Lina found herself beginning to wonder if her old fears about Grace's true intentions were not so unlikely after all. She was obviously screwing up her courage to the sticking point about something. Well, nothing for it but to be on guard. If she could she would get a chance to whisper to Zel, otherwise she'd have to be ready to act alone. Well, but it was crazy to think that way, vigilance yes, paranoia no. The troop swept along the streets and were soon at the palace. An honour guard stood ready to receive the honoured guest and the red carpet was out, literally. Seirune was certainly giving Grace the benefit of the doubt at any rate. "Here we go." thought Lina to herself.

Lina and the others dismounted before the steps, a royal courtier helping Grace off the horse lest she soil her foot on the ground, which struck Lina as immensely ridiculous, but she knew better than to laugh out loud. Lina managed to give Grace's hand a squeeze and wish her luck. Grace replied "Thank you Lina. Well, this is what we came for, there's no going back now. As the old saying goes, "The die is cast." With that Grace went into the palace with Zel and Lina behind her as a sort of honorary guard.

Lina looked over to Zel and nodded her head ever so slightly towards Grace. Zel nodded, he hadn't forgotten the earlier suspicions either. Good. At the door the chief butler met them along with various officials. They extended greetings, took Grace's cloak, and with formality ushered her in to the throne room where Prince Phillionel and the Lady Amilia were standing in front of their thrones, waiting her arrival. Grace stopped and swayed at the doorway, then took a deep breath and walked in to the room. At the requisite spot she stopped and curtsied deeply, then, as Phil and Amilia returned the greeting she came to the foot of the throne. Phil and Amilia sat down, indicating the audience had begun. Lina and Zel also gave greeting, then wandered off to the side to watch, and listen.

"To Your Majesty Phillionel, by the grace of the gods Prince of Seirune, from he who is my husband and by the grace of the gods His Majesty Alfred, King of Westhold, greetings and love as is fitting from brother to brother." Grace began in her usual quiet but clear voice, using the formal speech of royalty. "My King bids me, oh Prince, as his ambassador to give you this message. "Brother Phillionel, it has reached our ear that there is between us an unfounded rumour which has caused you great discomfort, that rumour being one of war with the west. We would have you know, with all assurances, that war in the west is not now, nor ever will be, the desire of Westhold. Rather, we desire peace, tranquility, and good will with all our brother and sister monarchs in the realms newly opened again to us after the too long sealing away of these pleasant and goodly lands by the evil of those beings called Mazoku who exist ever to plague mankind alone and severally, as is their wont."" "Huh?" whispered Lina to Zel, who whispered back "Hi, how are you, don't believe the rumours of war, we want peace with the lands formerly under the Mazoku shield." "Why not say so?" Lina responded in her turn. "Don't know," said Zel. "It's a king thing. Shhhhh" "Yeah, yeah"  
Grace went on "Thus says my king, thus is my message. As ambassador I would end now, but I would add as Queen that I believe you will find my credentials of the highest order and that you may believe me when I say the we do not want war with you, Your Majesty, only peace." Phil was silent for a minute then rumbled into a response. "Your Highness, for your pains and your words we do thank you, you do your embassy well. We are not un-disposed at all to your words and we also will have it known that we desire naught but peace with our sometime sundered, now happily reunited, brethren to the East. We eagerly await the presentation of your credentials that we may with joy accept fully all you have brought to us and enter into love between our two sovereign nations, uniting as brother to brother in love and peace." Zel pre-empted Lina this time and whispered "Pretty speech, now prove it."

Lina shook her head in wonder, but Grace went on. "Certainly Your Majesty. May I approach the throne that I may hand them to you in person?" "Zel..." said Lina, stiffening. Things were usually handed over by way of pages. To put herself so close to the Prince put Grace in striking distance. Lina was tense. Zel was tense. They waited to see what would happen. "Uh, as you wish, Your Highness" said Phil, a bit taken aback by the unusual request. Grace spoke quietly as she said "I thank Your Majesty for this. I know it is unusual to do it as such, but," and by now she was before Phil on his throne, "here are my credentials." With that she gently placed a sleeping Arthur into Prince Phillionel's lap then backed off.

"Madam?" asked a startled and puzzled Phil, as he held the child. "What does this mean?" "It means," replied Grace, that this child has a claim on you Your Majesty and through this claim I hope to satisfy you that you can trust me and my ambassadorship. "A claim?" asked an incredulous Phil. "What claim madam? With babies, those sorts of things are usually made of paternity suits! You can't possibly in anyone's wildest dreams mean to suggest..."

"Paternity?" said Grace. "No, not quite. But close." Lina squeezed forward, it was obvious to all that Grace was nervous and that something was about to happen. Grace now held herself erect and looked Phil in the eye. "Your Majesty," she went on, "this child is indeed my son, begotten of me by my husband. But, it was needed for you to do this, to hold him like this. You see, even if you reject me and my embassy to you, at least you have had the chance to hold him once in peace. Your Majesty, the simple fact is that Prince Arthur is my son, but he is your..."

At this point Grace's voice swelled with energy and came up in volume. At the same time her hand went up to her veil, and as she spoke the last word she yanked it off and revealed herself.

"GRANDSON!"

A shockwave of silence smashed through the room. Any pin foolish enough to drop would have been too afraid to make any noise as it hit the floor. No one breathed. Then Prince Phil, still hugging Arthur, stood up, a look of shock, wonder, and joy on his face, and he broke the silence. "Gracia!" he whispered, then louder went on "Gracia Ul Naga Seyruun!" Even as he spoke Amilia rather upstaged him with a happy shriek "Big sister! It's my Big Sister!" and ran to hug Grace, or rather Gracia, no longer a scary messenger, but her beloved and much missed sister. Suddenly there was a loud scream that stopped everyone short and contained more energy that was thought to be humanly possible.

Everyone turned to see Zel holding Lina, who seemed to be having some sort of a fit, writhing in his arms and repeatedly saying "No,no,no,no,no,no,no..." "YES!" said Gracia in a commanding tone even while still hugging Amilia. "I AM!" Lina was on her feet in a flash a look of extreme shock and horror on her face. She pointed a shaky finger at Gracia and screamed.

"NAGA! NAGA? NAGA THE WHITE SERPENT? YOU'RE THE MISSING PRINCESS, AND THE QUEEN!" Suddenly she pitched forward and only missed the floor because Zel stood ready to catch her now limp, fainted form. With that, Naga, finally revealed said "I can't hold it any more..." and started to laugh. Yes. That laugh. And it went on and on and on to the point where even Prince Phil was wondering what to do to shut her up. Fortunately Lina woke up at that point.

"Eh? Naga!" She walked stiffly up to the laughing woman and pointed a shaking finger at her. "I may not be able to fireball you right now, because of your baby, but I can still BOP you one, royalty or not!" Naga actually stopped laughing but with a smirk on her face. "Oh ho. Yes I'm sure you could and would, Lina Inverse! But you might find collecting those hundred sacks of treasure you were offered a little difficult. After all you were supposed to keep me safe until I returned to Westhold!"

"Damn it!" shouted Lina, foiled by her weakness for treasure and the emotions of the moment. "Oh to hell with it. I'm going to bed! Or something!" With that she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room, complaining in a tear filled voice "It's my fault. I can't believe I didn't recognise you on the road! How? How could I not? How could I not? I can't believe I opened my heart to you and let you see into the depth of my spirit..." she said in a genuinely sorrowful tone, sounding rather like one who had accidentally placed the keys to heaven into the hands of the devil himself. "Lina..." said, surprisingly, Gracia, back to Queen Grace from the road, only with the volume up now. Naga had subsided. Lina stopped, not sure why, and sniffled out a tearful "What is it?" "What you said on the road," said Gracia, a catch in her own voice. "I just want you to know something. I love you too."

Lina was known as a fast runner, just clock her as she races to food for example. However, the speed with which she turned and threw herself into Gracia's arms left all her old records in the dust at the starting post. By now Zel was beginning to get a headache, all the laughing and sobbing and wailing was bothering his ears. So was Prince Phil, even though he was overjoyed that his daughter was back and ecstatic at the unexpected gift of meeting his first grandchild. So when the butler approached and nervously announced that dinner was served he was more than boisterous as he rounded up everyone and got them all set to the table. And after the roller coaster ride of emotion from the past several days it was just what was needed.

Everyone was seated, Prince Phil at the head of the table, Gracia at the place of honour, in other words the middle of the table to Prince Phil's right, with Lina and Amilia on either side of her, and Zelgadiss conveniently at Prince Phil's left so that he could report on the journey while they ate. And eat they did. Well, Lina and Gracia. Zel too, but not as much or as enthusiastically, a side effect of being a chimera was a reduced need for food, after all. Amilia of course wasn't on the trip so she hadn't built an appetite like the other two. She contented herself with eating some of the food, and talking with Lina and her sister, and after she was full she held her new nephew, her face glowing.

Zel's heart just about broke, he knew how much she wanted one of her own. "Someday, beloved, someday." he silently promised Amilia, even as his old doubts asked him who he was kidding. After awhile the eating slowed, even stopped, and the wine and dessert was brought out. Lina was amazed to see Gracia turn her glass over. "You're not drinking? You? Are not drinking?" she asked incredulously. "Now I know you are an impostor! Who are you and what did you do with the real Naga?" she asked, starring at Gracia. "Let's just say I came to terms with enough of my past that I don't need my addiction any more. I'll explain later." Gracia replied. "I think you'll find I've changed a lot, at least in some ways, Lina."

With that, she stood up and faced her father. "Daddy, I thank you for this day and this meal and all your warmth towards me. Now I need to do something important that I should have done years ago. When I left I said some hateful things to you in order to force your hand and make you let me go free into the world. And I used language that should never be used against a father or a prince, nor be found in the mouth of gutter trash, never mind a daughter or a royal princess, especially the heir to the throne of Seirune. And I did it not only to you, but in front of my sister and in public, shaming you. I am sorry, daddy, I apologize for what I said. Please forgive me."

She turned to her sister and continued. "And I apologize to you too Amilia, no little girl should ever hear her sister use such words, nor have her father called down in front of her like that. I am sorry, I apologize to you too, and I also ask your forgiveness." The silence in the room was broken only by two small sounds. The first was Lina dropping her fork along with her jaw, the second was Lina subsequently clicking her teeth together hard in order to bite back the rather incredulous "You, apologize?" she felt almost compelled to say. Obviously Gracia was apologizing, and Lina remembered she had wondered a while back what had made Naga tick. Now, it seemed, she was finding out.

After swallowing a few lumps Prince Phil stood up and seemed on the verge of tears himself. Lina suddenly felt she was intruding on a private family moment, and wished she could shrink away, but she was trapped. Prince Phil finally spoke and said "Gracia, I... never held that against you..." "I held it against myself daddy. That's why I couldn't come back home all these years, that and the memory of, of..." Gracia broke down weeping. Suddenly all pretence at royal formality was gone and she went to her father and threw herself in his arms. Amilia was also weeping and looked like she needed to join her family. Seeing her plight Lina took little Arthur from her, and off Amilia went to join the group hug and weep. Lina looked over to Zel who looked as if his headache was getting worse. "Poor Zel" she thought. "Who weeps for him, I wonder? And where are you Gourry, when I could use a shoulder to cry on too?"

She nodded her head slightly to Zel asking silently if he wanted to leave. He nodded yes and they got up to walk out to the next room where it was quieter. Lina sat beside him, rocking the baby slightly. She turned to Zel and said "So, when in the middle of all that did the world end? I missed it!" Zel gave a quiet chuckle and shook his head. "Dysfunctional family." he said. "Wow," went on Lina, "now I think I begin to see what was driving the Naga I knew. I didn't know who she was at the time. I don't know what I would have done if I had, maybe it was better that I didn't know." "I had heard some of this," said Zel, "but even I don't know the full story. I think there has been a lot of turbulent water in the life of the royal house of Seirune. And still, I want to marry in to it if I can ever find a cure, and Amilia is still available. I don't know if you understand Lina, but when I, as a man, see this sort of thing going on, I just feel I want to somehow make it all right for her."

He looked over to Lina and then dropped his eyes. "Pipe dream, probably..." he concluded. Lina put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't give up your dreams Zel, not dreams like that. Not without giving them the fight of your life first. If you can pull it off, I know you'll find she's worth it. I'll help you too. I think I can combine looking for Gourry with looking for help for you." She gave him a smile. He smiled back and nodded his thanks. "I'm glad we are friends, Lina Inverse." he said quietly. Lina's smile broadened. She was silent for a few minutes as she shifted Arthur who was getting restless. "How did Gracia's mother die I wonder?" she asked Zel, not expecting an answer. "Murder." was the reply.

Lina looked up suddenly, it hadn't been Zel who answered, but Gracia, who had come for her baby. Lina looked shocked. "The Gods!" she exclaimed. "I thought she had an accident!" "It's okay Lina" said Gracia sitting down beside her. "You know something of the troubles of my family, maybe you need to hear it told in a fuller version. My grandfather disappeared without a trace, as you know. You can't declare a king dead just like that, so although he is a de facto king, my daddy still rules as Crowned Prince. Of course he hasn't had an easy time of it. Some of his brothers, and others, wished the crown for themselves, and since he's "only" the Crowned Prince, they didn't consider the matter settled, as they would have done if he were a formally crowned King. I think you had a hand in settling some of it." Lina nodded, still shocked.

Gracia continued "It has been a very vicious internal war, really. But the story is simple as far as I go. One night an assassin whose name we later learned was Booley snuck into the palace. His mission seems to have been to kill daddy, or barring that, to remove his successors to the throne." Lina gave a gasp. "But, that's you, and Amilia!" she exclaimed. This story was getting more shocking as it was told. "He nearly succeeded too." replied Gracia, with a note of fear and bitterness in her voice. "Picture this. I was sixteen. You remember how you felt at sixteen, don't you, about life and the uncertainty of the adventure of the future, and all that? An adult, yet still a child?" Lina nodded yes, and Gracia continued. "I was alone in my room doing some sort of sixteen year old princess thing or other, I don't remember what. I do remember a sudden, rough hand grabbing my arm and hauling me up to look into a cruel, cruel face with an evil metal whip of many strands behind it, poised to cut my body to ribbons. Of course I screamed even as he grabbed me, and somehow I managed to twist out of his grip. Naturally I ran from the room as fast as I could."

"For some reason my mother was close by, and that scream is what saved me and condemned her. She burst into the room and screamed herself as she ran to help me, putting herself between my retreat and Booley's coming after me. Of course Booley struck her down, but she didn't go with the first blow, and it was her repeated screams of pain that finally got to me. I couldn't leave her undefended! I returned at a dead run, and as I burst back into the room I threw the first spell with any power behind it that came to my mind, ironically it was one of my mother's, one she had invented, or at least so I believe. It's Chaos String, I can't remember if I ever showed it to you or not. I could tell by the way the spell interactred with the whip that the metal strands had been charged by a magical spell too, Mono Volt is my guess, though of course Booley isn't here to ask. The effect was that the whip snapped back on it's wielder, and cut him to ribbons too. At any rate, there was blood everywhere, and ever since then I have had a very strong emotional reaction to blood."

"Oh, that's what happened on the road, oh, and some of the times as Naga too..." Lina said. "Yes," went on Gracia. "I don't remember much of what happened next, except a lot of screaming and screaming and screaming." Lina was stunned. The shock showed openly on her face, and she had trouble breathing for a minute. Finally she mouthed "Oh gods..." in horror of what was described to her. Gracia was also rocking as she tried to tell the tale as evenly as she could, the tears flowing from her eyes like a river.

"Now" she sniffled, "we come to the birth of Naga. I was in shock, I couldn't speak, or eat, or sleep, or anything for the next day or even two days. Finally, they dragged me out to see my mother in her coffin. I ran to her and kissed her cold, cold lips, and then, so help me, I started to laugh. My signature laugh. The one you and so many others cringed at all these years. I developed this idea. I had to be stronger, better, faster. I had to have power, magic power, I had to be the greatest in the world. I started to pour through every text I could find anywhere. I quickly realised that black magic offered more offensive and defensive spells, so I studied it. Finally I realised I had to get out. I needed to try my powers, to develop them, and to study more. And I was haunted every night by my memories. Many nights for months, I couldn't sleep for the nightmares. And the guilt. Oh I know, I did the best I could, logic dictates that I could have done nothing else. But my heart never believed it. In fact it still doesn't. It still accuses me of being weak, of panicing in the face of danger, of failing m-my, mother..." Gracia had to stop for a weep.

Soon it passed and she continued yet again. "So I decided to leave. Of course it took most of the year to get my father to let me go and even then I resorted to a wild fit of cursing and swearing and being altogether shameful, until my poor, poor daddy realised there was nothing for it but to let me go, and with reluctance and even a few tears he gave me his blessing. By this time I had long gone through my mothers effects and knew just what a world famous sorceress would wear. To honour her, at least in my mind, and show how evil I was, I, well, you know what I took." Lina just shook her head in wonder. "That, that, black thing..." "Yes, that black thing." responded Gracia. Well, the sword and spikes came later, as did the skull and the boots, but the tiara, cloak, garter, gloves, and of course the bikini were hers. I think she must have been an exotic dancer at one point and this might have been her costume. Oh well... I told you I am a lot like her in face and form if I remember." "Right! On the road!" said Lina.

Gracia went on "To tell you the truth, there was another more secret reason I took it too. It was the sort of thing you wear next to your skin. My skin was touching something that had touched my mother's skin. In a strange way it was like she was hugging me when I wore it, and for the longest time I needed that hug, Lina. Now I have found someone who's hugs can give me as much comfort, and I finally have laid the costume to rest. Anyway, I studied and I practiced hard and long. But two things always bothered me, deep inside. One was that I had shamed my father, and my family on the night I got permission to leave. It settled into my gut and burned away like an unquenchable fire. It only went out a few minutes ago in fact." "Oh, Gracia" said Lina softly remembering her friend's apology. "The other" Gracia went on, "was my feelings for my mother. My heart froze within me Lina, and I simply could not..., could not..., Oh gods help me it hurts even now. Lina, I could not, if my life depended on it, cry for her. I could not mourn her, the trauma was so great to me. I was in pain Lina, all the time. Only two things protected me. My bitter, brittle pride, which would not let me lie down and die, and there were times I had a real death wish, Lina, but I couldn't do it. The other, was the alcohol. It gave me temporary relief, and eased the pain. Of course I had the get stinking drunk to do it. As you well know."

"Gracia, I'm sorry!" said Lina, feeling guilty. "I knew you liked your drink, but I never ever thought you had a problem, I thought you were, were,..." "A stupid drunk? Well, I was Lina, I really was. So, now you have seen the bared soul of Naga the White Serpent. Not bad eh? My middle name and our family crest. Of course, when, at age ninteen, my pride found out some upstart peasant girl from the realm of the eternal queen was being talked about as the greatest sorceress the world even had know, and not me, well, I smelled blood. I tracked you to that hotel, wherever it was, I don't remember now, and, you know the rest." "Yeah..." said Lina slowly. "But now I see it in a different light. I am amazed Naga, I mean Gracia, sorry." "I am both, call me what you wish, my dear Lina" said Gracia softly. "Thanks." replied Lina , tears in her eyes. "That was a lot of information, it..., I'm... oh, I don't know what to say...". "Say nothing." said Gracia softly. "Just know the truth." Lina smiled at her.

At this point Arthur decided it was his turn and he started to fuss with a vengeance. "Oh, duty calls, happy, happy duty!" said Gracia with a smile. "His daddy saved my life Lina, I'll tell you the rest of the story later, okay?" "Yes, sure!" said Lina. "I need time to take in what I just heard anyway. It sure explains a whole lot, Gracia, and I thank you for telling me. I know it hurt a lot to say what you did, I really, really appreciate that you did it for me." Gracia smiled and took the baby away. Lina then noticed Amilia was standing next the Zel, she had been there all along of course. She had tears in her eyes and was hugging Zel. Zel looked over to Lina as much wonder on his face as on hers. "Every time I think I have it tough..." he said with a quiet smile. Lina chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Makes my stuff with Luna look less imposing somehow." "Luna?" he asked. "Oh, your big sister, right?" "Yes, and I too have some dysfunctional water to cross and some bridges to rebuild too. I'll tell you later, I just couldn't tonight, not after that." "It's up to you Lina" he said softly. "Of course you've piqued my curiosity, but it's your business and I will respect your privacy."

She nodded her thanks with a bittersweet smile. Amilia by this time was winding down the sniffles and Lina asked her gently "Amilia, any sign of Gourry?" "No, I'm so sorry, he isn't in Seirune, and I had the whole country searched as best I could." she replied, softly, in her turn. Lina nodded and turned sad eyes to the ground. "Where are you my beloved jellyfish?" she thought to herself.

At this point Prince Phil sat down beside her and said "Lina, I too have a bit of a confession to make. Gracia used to write to us as she wandered, sporadically of course, but still, we had some contact. You made up a great part of some of her letters. It wasn't all complementary, as you would suspect from her at that time, but it was never outright bad, and reading between the lines I realised she rather respected and even liked you. Anyway, when we met that day so long ago, I was aware of who you were, although I felt it best not to say so. I hadn't thought I'd meet you there, that was just happy chance. The thing is, I think you helped Gracia hang on to her sanity long enough to get to the point where she was ready to heal. I want to thank you for that. And for being a friend to Amilia too, she really likes you as well. You have blessed my family, and my house, and, well, if I can ever help you, please let me know." Lina's emotions had had enough and she burst into tears, hugging Phil as she did so, who tenderly held her and treated her like a loving father until she settled. After she calmed down she looked at him and said "Thanks Phil, that meant more to me than all the riches in the world." Phil smiled at her then said to the room in general "Well, I think we have used up a lot of energy with all that emotion, anyone want a second dinner?" Naturally, there was a chorus of "YES" from the group, and a resigned sigh from Zel, and they all went back in to have a more filling and less tearful second meal. 


	11. kChapter10

Chapter 10 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke the next morning strangely at peace, the crazy emotions of the past weeks having been purged by the events of yesterday. Still, it was not a day to be relaxed in, for, by the end of their second dinner the previous night Naga, er, Gracia, had told her father there was real trouble brewing in the east and that she needed to try and explain it to him, and as many ambassadors of the other kingdoms and principalities as he could get to come and listen to her. Prince Phil had stated after some thought that he could have them all over by lunch, and that she could speak after the meal. So Lina was now anticipating that something big was to be revealed. And just when she thought she was going to be free to look for Gourry again. She had a momentary doubt wondering if higher powers were trying to tell her that she wasn't meant to be Mrs. Yoghurt Brain after all. Sigh...

She had a small, by Lina standards, breakfast and went to see what or who she could see. Gracia had locked herself away to prepare for the meeting, and Amilia and Zel were taking some needed "alone" time with each other, Phil was of course busy getting ready to receive the guests and so Lina basically found herself cooling her heels in the magic library of the castle. She didn't feel like studying anything intense and ended up with a volume of magical myths. It was rather amusing in a way. There were so many strange tales about what magic was and could do, everything from how to turn gold into lead to how to fly to the moon. "As if that'll ever happen!" Lina thought rather scornfully. Then there were the tales of lost magic treasures that could never have existed in reality, golden rings that would shed five copies of themselves every night, a flying boat that could carry an army, then, when you didn't need it you could fold it up into your pocket, or, her favourite, the emerald tablets of Thoth, an ancient seeker of knowledge, said to have complied all that was known of magic in the universe, or at least the world, and to have sealed it into tablets of crystal to be recalled at will. "That would be so nice..." thought Lina, imagining a tablet that would have even more information in it than famous Claire bible, but she also remembered the Clair Bible shown to her by Xellos the Mazoku priest. It had taken literally acres to store the thing. And a crystal tablet, or two as some thought, was going to hold as much or more information. Yeah, right!

Finally the summons came for the luncheon. Lina was set at a side table where she had a good view of the proceedings. The meal itself was smooth enough with a lot of diplomatic back and forth between the officials. Food and drink flowed like water from a tap. Finally all were satisfied and the little dainties for after were brought out and the tables cleared. Then Prince Phil rose up and introduced his long lost daughter to the dignitaries. There was a general round of polite applause which was quickly silenced as he went on to explain she was going to address them on a matter of gravest importance from the Kingdom of Westhold. With that Gracia took the stage.

Lina thought she looked nervous at first, but figured she would be alright once she got going. And with that Gracia started to speak. At first she extended the usual greetings and good will as from one ambassador to another to the group as a whole. She explained briefly who she was and then she went into her topic. It seemed she had been busy drawing if nothing else. She was quite talented artistically when she put her mind to it, as Lina had found out more than once in her travels with her. Of course, when she didn't put her mind to it the results were something else...

Anyway, the first drawing Gracia put up was a map of the world as it had been known under the isolation of the Mazoku shield. She then revealed a map of the world as it was. Much of what had been taken as fact, the vast world ocean, the large un-crossable desert even the exact shape of the continents had changed. Oh the familiar parts were still there, of course, but now it was plain that the part of the world where Seirune was located was just a part of a much larger continent, and instead of an eastern ocean there were two walls of mountains with a large valley between them and on the other side was an absolutely huge land mass stretching into the east for thousands of miles. In fact it looked as if the inner and outer continents were some sort of a disk that had been thrown into the vast ocean, and their part of the world was just a western finger of the eastern continent. Actually, the mountains made it appear as if the "finger" had actually moves from somewhere else, and had ended up bashing against the bigger continent with enough force to scrunch up the land into mountains. It looked that way, but of course, as everyone knew, continents didn't actually move. Did they?

Gracia explained that for many hundreds of generations the peoples of the east had lived under the heel of a dictatorial Khan and that Westhold had long been the only nation on the continent outside of the Mazoku imposed barrier to hold out against them. It had seemed almost a yearly occurrence from as far back as they had records, that some sort of army from the east would attempt to take over Westhold and it was looked on as just one of the evils summer brought, along with things like mosquitoes, heat, and the like. However, a few years ago a new and reportedly very vicious Khan had ascended the throne in the far east, and had immediately started on a pogrom to remove all his rivals and bring the continent under his boot. As a result, there were no more incursions to the west for quite a number of years.

An attempt had been made to open diplomatic ties with the new ruler, but it was politely spurned on the excuse he was too busy. So a watchful peace had settled in. And in the midst of that, lo and behold an unlooked for yet miraculous occurrence! The Mazoku shield was removed! And the fabled "True West" was restored to the world! Great wonder and joy, and fear attended this happening, for no one knew what this might mean. But, no hordes of homicidal mercenaries poured eastward to crush the continent under boot, and trade and diplomacy were started. And more wonderful, the people in the west were revealed to be long sundered kindred to the people of Westhold. But now came a great and terrible confession. So great had the joy been that they in Westhold had let their guard slip! News of this happening had of course been noticed in the east, and only the gods had any idea how it was received, but, only a short month ago, the price of their joy turned to folly was revealed to the kingdom. The Khan, either sensing an opportunity, or fearing an invasion, or both, had launched an invasion force of his own towards the west. It was unlike any force ever sent before.

By virtue of his pogroms and purges, there were no more dissenters in the Khanate, and the Supreme Khan was free to use his armies as he saw fit. Gracia hesitated then, with fear obvious in her voice she went on. "Men of the west, we have had only a short time to gather intelligence and confirm reports, but all reports say the same thing without fail. Having no internal enemies to guard against anymore, the Khan has gathered every recruit he could and unleashed the whole mass of his army towards us. We have great trouble believing the size of the reports, but even trying to be conservative, we estimate the smallest his force can be is around five hundred thousand men!"

A gasp and several mutterings of "impossible!" were heard around the room. Gracia held her hand up and when silence was returned she went on. "The other end of the scale puts his army at about one million. And before you say impossible again, I assure you, they have the land and population base that they could do this. It means they have stripped their countries and vassal states of nearly every available man or boy of fighting age, and maybe even recruited many able fighting women, but yes, alas, they could make an army as big as a million men at arms. And our mission was to be the bulwark against them. Yet, even though we have not given up our training, or our preparedness, we could not muster more than one hundred thousand men at arms in all of Westhold. That muster has already begun, and that is why you have reports of us going onto a war footing, but not against the west."

Gracia sighed and looked as if all the weight of the world were on her shoulders. "We realise that this information is scanty and that there is no basis for you to believe us. Therefore we do not presume to ask for help. We ask only one thing. Put your defences in order. If they get through us, the only way you will stop them is to be organised at the gate at the narrow pass." There were more murmurings and buzzing in the room, and the ambassadors clearly didn't know what to make of it. Some had looks of outright disbelief on their faces, others seemed afraid, or confused. Someone asked "What do you mean, "the gate at the narrow pass"?" Gracia looked up and said "Let me show you."

She now revealed a third map, of Westhold itself. It revealed a sort of oblong shaped country entirely rimmed with mountains, a great valley between two ranges. It ran roughly from the northwest to the south east, and was easily some 500 miles from tip to tip, where the mountains came together at top and bottom. Below it was the great desert, above it were the high northern regions of ice and snow. By anyone's standards it was huge. Phil was privately impressed! His daughter, Queen of all that? Ha, good for her, if anything, she had traded up, from even the glorious Seirune! Well, well.

On the map were three areas circled with red. Gracia pointed to the northern most one first, high up in the mountains, near the top of the country. "This is the high pass" she said. "High, not only because it is at the top of the country, but also because it crosses the mountains at a considerable altitude. It is narrow and treacherous, and in places a party of men can cross it only in single file where it is only wide enough for a man leading a horse to walk. It is plagued at all times with avalanches and snow storms are a threat even in the height of summer, the time of year that is hard upon us. It is at this time that the pass is open, for two to four weeks a year, depending on the weather. All the rest of the year it is too cold, windy, and snowy for a military unit to pass. We calculate that at best maybe 10,000 men could make it across between the opening and the closing, under the most favourable conditions possible. And once in, they won't get back for at least a year. So, no major invasion that way, yet a harassment force could get in behind our backs. We have dispatched a contingency force of the best fighters we could get, alas only about 500 strong, so great was our need for speed. Yet, if they can get into the strategic narrow ways of the pass they can hold off an army of ten times ten thousand men. So that pass is taken care of. That leaves the lower two."

"Now this one here", she went on to tap a lower part of the map, "is the narrow pass I spoke of. It is the passage between our country and the west. Here it is we built a high wall anticipating an invasion from the west. Happily we were wrong, but we felt it prudent to leave it up, but we did modify it somewhat. It now has carefully placed supports on both sides of the wall, and the lock on the gate can be reversed. Thus, with a bit of work it can be used by troops on your side of the gate to resist the hoards trying to get through the gate. We will leave it unguarded. I suggest you bring up your troops and man it and await the outcome of the war..." She sighed a deep sigh that left no one in doubt as to what the feared outcome would be. Lina looked over to Zel. He too understood now, those strange holes at the top of the wall were to allow a walkway to be suspended on the west side of the gate, and the holes in the gate were where the locking bars went...

After a minute Gracia went on, pointing now to the right side of the map a bit lower down from the narrow pass. "This is what we call the bottle neck pass." she said. "So called because, as you see, it narrows and makes a bottle neck, here, a little less than a mile across, and it is here that we usually have been able to halt the flow of any invaders. The ground rises steeply here, like there had been an old waterfall or rapids there at one time. Along the top we have built a wall and it had served well enough. But against one million men? For every ten thousand we repulse they can launch one hundred thousand in replacement. We will be swamped. Well, we will do as we can, I can do no more than warn you. I hope I have been able to let you know what's coming, thank you for your time." With that an emotionally exhausted Gracia sat down.

There was dead silence in the room for many seconds, followed by some quiet whispers among the ambassadors and their staff. Then there was a slight rustle at the back and a distinguished military looking man stood up. "My name is Ivan." he began, very simply and to the point. "I am military attache to the embassy of Zoana here in Seirune. We have recently received some disturbing news from our spies, and let us not kid ourselves, we all have them." he said, glaring around the room at some who were protesting his acknowledgement of the use of spies. The protesters looked away guiltily, and even Prince Phil seemed a little uncomfortable. "I will come to the point!" announced Ivan. We have received reports Westhold was arming, so we looked into it. We determined independently, not without great difficulty I might add, your kingdom runs nice tight security I must say Your Majesty," he said to Gracia as an aside, "anyway, we determined that the threat came from the east and that the west was not in danger, at least not from Westhold. Naturally we sent our spies east too. They didn't get far, but they were able to tell us that there were rumours of a massive army moving west to crush Westhold and possibly beyond. We were at a loss as to what to make of these reports frankly, for they were few and sketchy and we had no way to confirm them. Until now. After this, I think I can say the Zoana will believe you, Queen Gracia."

There was a buzzing the room now as all the ambassadors started to take up the prospect of the threat being very real. Ivan went on. "I will send my report as soon as may be to my Queen, Martina, and I am sure Zoana will man your wall for you. But I wish to take this opportunity to state to our fellow ambassadors, we should consider the other option. The option of aid for Westhold. For three reasons. One, that bottle necked pass our Lady spoke of is a far better defensive barrier if properly manned, than the narrow pass will be. I have seen this narrow pass, attacking it in either direction will be very, very hard, but it is easier to attack the wall from the east, and if the enemy brings pre-built great war machines such as collosal battering rams, and trebuchets it will only be a matter of time before the wall is down. And then, with a massive army, they will eventually break out. The second reason is that there is safety in numbers, and I calculate that the west can muster a good one hundred thousand men. Add that to Westhold's muster of one hundred thousand and the odds are much better in our favour. Two hundred thousand men against even one million, along a wall on top of a hill, with no chance of the enemy flanking us, and we can stand very firm indeed. My final reason, if Westhold is being false, better to have our army, possibly even bigger in number than theirs, deep in their country and ready to fight, than to try and muster at the last second." The room went silent again, thoughtful at the attache's words, and shocked at the bald accusation flung at Westhold's Queen.

Gracia looked up from her slump and said, tears standing in her eyes, "I can give no absolute assurances, you all know that. Help would be most welcome, but is not looked for, just be ready as best you can." With that she slumped again. Prince Phil stood up and said somewhat forcefully "This is my daughter, I recognise her beyond all doubt. I believe her report and her assurances of friendship. Seirune will send help, and if Zoana will come I will send even more from my own troops. It is time we all ended the unjust restlessness between us and found a common cause to unite us in friendship, truth, and justice for all!"

"No Daddy, please, just be ready to defend yourselves here, you can't leave Seirune unguarded!" said a worried Gracia with a sob. Lina shook her head, leave it to Prince Phil to warm up into a justice speech at a council of war. And indeed he did just that. With a verbal flip of the wrist he brushed aside Gracia's advice and launched into one of his infamous speeches, but for all his bombast he was skilful enough that he made reasoned and sound arguments for sending at least some forces from the west in a combined army to aid the Kingdom of Westhold. Lina got up and motioned Zel to follow her. As she walked past Amilia, who was sitting there with her eyes shining as she listened to her daddy speak, Lina snagged her and said quietly "I know Naga well enough to know she hasn't told us everything, yet. Come on!"

The three companions walked over to the still slumped Queen and sat down. Amilia hugged her sister and Lina put her hand on Gracia's shoulder, and said "Come on Naga, you haven't said everything have you?" Gracia looked up, a picture of misery and said "No..." She sighed and shook her head. "Listen to him." she said to her sister. Amilia, for the love of the gods! Don't let him leave Seirune defenceless! He may well rush to save me and leave nothing for you to come into! Not that you wouldn't all be welcome forever with much love and joy in Westhold. But you are meant to be a queen in your own right someday!" Amilia replied in a sprite tone "You have been gone a long time if you think Daddy that simple my dearest and silliest sister! Some of this is just for effect. And if you didn't want him to come to your aid you should not have come back." "You don't get it." replied Gracia. "What I need is a safe place to send Arthur if, if..., we..., fail...," She sank back down in genuine tears this time as a mother's fear for her child rose to the surface.

The two women sighed and hugged the distraught Queen. "Hush, hush, dear sister" said Amilia gently. "No, no" said Lina. "She won't have time for this when battle is upon them, she needs to get this out of her system now, while she can." Gracia sobbed for another couple of minutes then slowed to the hiccough stage. "Thanks." she said quietly to the little group. "I don't know why I am so emotional lately, it's like I haven't been the same since Arthur was born." "Well, that's it then." said Lina. "You know some women get moody after having a baby!" Gracia gave her a puzzled look and said "I was rather under the impression that that only happened a few days after the birth of the child." "Yup, normally!" said Lina brightly!But you are, after all, Naga the White Serpent! And you have to over do and over act everything, it's you mission in life!"

Amilia looked startled, even Zel raised an eyebrow. Gracia turned and looked Lina square in the face, then, without batting a still teary eye raised her hands like she was drawing a bow and said "Freeze Arrow!" Of course nothing happened, but Lina laughed and pointed a finger responding "Fire Ball!" in her turn. The two women looked at each other, sighed, and then broke out laughing, Gracia still hiccoughing as she did so. "When I get my powers back..." she said. "Oh yes, we have some unfinished business." responded Lina, with a smile. "You're going to fight?" asked an incredulous Amilia. "What kind of silly question is that?" asked Gracia? "Oh, er, well, I wasn't thinking..." sputtered Amilia. "Well of course we are!" replied Lina. "You think we'd let a little thing like friendship get in the way of what's important? Like deciding once and for all that I'm clearly the best and most beautiful of the two of us?" she went on. "Clear as the inside of a cave on a moonless, stormy night you mean!" came back Gracia or more like it was Naga surfacing again. "Oh well, as long as you have your ego integrity..." put in Zel, obviously taking a dim view of the proceedings.

Naga turned to Zel and fixed him with a thin, dangerous smile. "So, stone boy, did anyone ever tell you golem magic is a specialty of mine?" Zel suddenly affected an innocent expression and asked "Say, did anyone else hear that strange voice just now?" as a big drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Oooo" said Amilia, amazed. "It takes a lot to make Zel sweat..." "Thanks, Beloved." said Zel with a sarcastic tone of voice. "That might work for your little friends here," went on Naga, as she turned back to Lina, "but you aren't putting anything over on me that easily. Why the height advantage I have alone..." "Waddya mean, little!" snapped Lina. "You bringing size into this again, oh "Great Goddess?" Suddenly she snapped her hand over her mouth and went "oops!"

Naga laughed. "Oh, Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho! Well, and why shouldn't the Great Goddess bring size into it, Piku-piku Lina-chan? OH, HO, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho. Such a big powerful magic user, couldn't even win that little contest without cheating and leaving her golem so she could cast the Dragon Slave and wreck half the town! Ha, but you have been revenged upon! That crater you left is now the Piku-piku Lina-chan lake and theme park!" "What?" yelped Lina. "No way! You're making that up!" "Er, no she's not Lina" muttered Zel. "I've been to that village in my travels, and alas it's true. I thought that big round pink and white statue in the middle of the park looked um, strangely familiar, er, in a caricature like way of course... but the real, er, horror, was the dancing redheaded golem with the strangely curvy and bouncy body. I wondered what was going on, I think I'm beginning to piece the strange tale together now..." Lina looked at Zel and gave him a thin, dangerous smile. "So, stone boy did anyone ever tell you rendering golems inactive is a specialty of mine?" Zel slid behind Amilia and said "Um dear, would you like to take a walk with me?" Amilia smiled and said "Oh Zelly, you know where the short piers are, I think you can take a long walk off of one of them without my help..."

The three women broke in to gales of laughter at that and Zel felt himself rather under a cloud. "Well," he thought to himself, "in the end I did go and open my big mouth." "Oh, the tales we have to tell." said a smiling Gracia, now back in the forefront. "And not tell." added Lina with a big smile too. "Ah well," went on Gracia, "I guess I better get on with answering your question." She then reached over and pointed to a spot on the map above the Bottleneck Pass. "Here" she said, "is a long ridge of sandstone in the otherwise solid granite of the mountains. It is probably the remains of an old river bottom. It is soft and inviting, and a good team of engineers could level a pass through it, or make a ramp of some sort. We believe such a team is moving with the main force, Lina. If Westhold had a Royal Sorceress, she could summon up an army of golem workers to dig out the soft rock and replace it with huge blocks of hard granite that no men could dig through. As it is the country only has a silly woman who fell in love and had a baby, thus sealing up her powers for several months when they were most needed." A tear trickled down Gracia's cheek. "Damn." she said silently. "Just when I thought I was all cried out..."

"What?" said Lina with a bit of anger. She grabbed Gracia's chin and turned her till she looked Lina in the face. "Now you listen here!" the redhead began. "There is nothing silly about being in love or becoming a mother. They are among the most beautiful things a woman can do in her life, and we both know it! Don't even think like that! Okay, so life threw you a curve. It also gave you what you need to straighten it out again. After all, you are sitting next to the most powerful and beautiful Sorceress in the whole world! And she's coming to help, even if you don't want her to!" Gracia started to laugh and for a second Naga flashed in her eyes again. "We shall see about that Lina Inverse, oh yes we shall!" she said through her mirth and her tears. "In the mean time, your offer to volunteer your help is gratefully accepted!" "Who said anything about volunteering?" shot back Lina, chuckling herself. "This is gonna cost you plenty big!" The two old friends bickered good naturedly back and forth for a few minutes, relieving stress and having fun. Zel rolled his eyes. Amilia remarked "I think my big sister makes a better negotiator than daddy does..."

Zel then said "Not to interrupt your fun ladies, but it seems to me that what Your Majesty is saying it that you look for war on three fronts, yes?" "Uh, yes" said Gracia coming back to reality with Lina right behind her. "Okay," went on Zel, "so what is going to happen is this, right? At the high pass your expeditionary force will be engaging any force of sappers and sabotage agents they might meet, and will be doing so about now. So there is no help for them. The main battle is here at the bottle neck, and will come later this summer when the main force of the enemy gets here. At that time you expect an attempt to be made to cut a pass north of the main battle area, possibly in a flanking move?" "Yes again." said Gracia. "And you have defensive works on the pass at a narrow ridge that forces the enemy to charge uphill?" "Right" said Gracia. "Hmm," said Zel, "I see what you are up against. Every available force must man the walls, and that will leave none for the engineers attempting to dig a tunnel or what ever." "Pretty much it..." acknowledged Gracia. "The idea was that the Sorceress would tackle the dig, but alas..."

"Yeah, alas!" said Lina. "Alas for them, Lina Inverse will be there, and what ever little chance they hoped to have against the Sorceress of Westhold will now be dashed!" Gracia snickered and said to Amilia, as if trying to recruit her against Lina, "See what I had to put up with?" Amilia replied "Ah Gracia, Lina is my friend too, and I'm sure Zel would like some company on his long walk from that short pier." She smiled prettily as she said so. Gracia leaned into her and with the same thin, dangerous smile from before stared deeply into Amilia's eyes. With out missing a beat, but unable to avoid a sweat drop of her own Amilia added "So, I, um, think I'll go with him when he goes..." "Yeah right!" muttered Zel. "Like that time with the lake dragon..."

"Ohhh, I wonder if he ever got it cooked?" whined Lina hungrily. Gracia cocked a questioning eye at Lina. "Um better tell that tale later, girls, here comes Prince Phillionel" interjected Zel. And indeed, as they turned, Prince Phil came up to the table where they were seated. They suddenly noticed too that the meeting was over and the various embassies were hastily making their ways out to their own buildings, obviously to file the various and sundry reports this news would generate.

"Well, well, well, my beloved Gracia!" he boomed. "That was some bit of news no doubt about it! By the gods! Now I understand what all this silly sneaking about business has been for! I think you were right, from the sounds of things, those Shadow Warriors were likely looking for an armed party, not some helpless travellers. The ones Zelgadiss tells me you fought were likely just lucky, so to speak, to have encountered you. And that bit of going into the woods, then flying! Wow! That's probably what put them off, eh? It would have taken that Mazoku you defeated time to recoup and tell anyone what was up, and the watchers were not aware of their target. Sneaking around was really your best option, even if it seemed the craziest. I think a good job was done all around!"

"Thanks Daddy!" replied a slightly happier Gracia. "Well, there will be no option of sneaking back, so now I have to beg you a favour and ask you to lend me a guard to return with. And I must go soon, I'm so sorry, there is a major war to prepare for and I have duties." "I figured as much my Princess." replied Phil. "Oh, duties, that reminds me!" said Gracia suddenly and she fished around her gown until she produced "A ring?" said Lina, curiously. "Yes, here take a look!" Gracia replied, handing it over to Lina. It was a signet ring, one used to impress a seal into sealing wax on a letter. It was heavy with gold and a large black stone into which was set a Cameo of a, well, White Serpent. "Oh, your crest!" said Lina. "Of course, Naga, the White Serpent!" "The White Serpent is our family emblem." Gracia explained. "Now different configurations mean different things. This one tells anyone reading a letter sealed by it that the crowned Heir to Seirune has sealed the letter. It is mine because of my being the Crowned Princess. Before that it was my daddy's, then his, and so on all the way back. It is only unofficial, but the bearer of this ring is ocasionally called "The White Serpent" as a title, thus my inspiration."

"He, he, it came in handy about eleven months back. You see, I had told my King much about my past, my mother's murder and the rest, but I never let on I was a princess. He thought I was an exceptionally gifted commoner that had won his heart. It was only on our wedding night I revealed myself to him. I was holding this ring and looking at it as he put his arm around me when we had finally made it to bed after our wedding. He said "Alone at last, my Princess!" I said "I think it's time you knew the rest of the story about me, Beloved!" He cocked an eye in his way, and made a joke about this ring belonging to some former beau, or worse, and I laughed and handed it to him, asking what he thought of it. He studied it for a minute and declared it to be a signet ring of some import, but he knew not what. He asked if that meant I had a rich family somewhere. I laughed again and told him to hang on to it until he could get it confirmed that the ring was what I said it was. I then told him my full name, he had only known me to be Naga before then. Of course the family name of Seyruun meant nothing to him, then. He looked impressed and asked "And where does your family live, Naga? I mean, Gracia?" So I told him, and he asked if my family was a rich and powerful part of society, and I said "Dear, we are the richest and most powerful. You see, I am the crowned Princess, the Heiress apparent to the throne of Seirune, and that ring is the signet ring carried by the heir as token of their right to inherit the throne. So, you see, your Princess really IS a Princess."

"Well needless to say he was stunned, but he recovered well, oh very well indeed! He said all he had to counter with was the fact he was a virgin too, as I was. And I know him well enough to know he meant it. So, there you have it! If anyone says anything, you know the truth! Arthur was conceived, in wedlock, of two royal parents, who are very much in love, and who were both virgins on their wedding night. And now I have a happy duty to perform." With that she received the cunning ring back from Lina and said "This is the property of the Heiress apparent to the Throne of Seirune. Obviously, I, as Queen of Westhold and mother of the heir, cannot fulfill that duty for Seirune any more. So I must resign my position in favour of my little sister Amilia, who I know was acting the part for a long time anyway, but now it is official. And to show this, I hereby surrender the ring to it's rightful owner." With that she handed the ring to Amilia, and said "In a real sense, Naga the White Serpent is gone. All Hail! Behold the successor, Amilia the White Serpent! OH, Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. This is so rich!" she concluded, beaming a big smile and giving Amilia a kiss on the cheek as the younger girl looked down in wonder at the ring. Lina sat there looking rather stunned. Finally she said "Well, I guess everything starts to fit once you know the rest of the story..."

"I'm the White Serpent?" said Amilia, rather stunned herself. "Yup, love, looks that way!" replied Zel with a smile. "Um, a bit of advice, don't emulate your immediate predecessor to the title, go back one more..." Prince Phil laughed and Amilia, after taking a second to do the math giggled too. Gracia fixed Zel with a Naga like look and said "Again with the smart remarks, stone boy?" This time however Zel fixed her with his own strange look and, with an esoteric little smile replied "Well, if half the rumours are true..." There was a stand off for a minute then suddenly Gracia blushed and looked away, at the same time going "HMPH! Well, don't believe everything you hear!" as Zel's smile widened to a grin and he held his fingers up in a "V" while mouthing "Victory!" at Lina. Lina guffawed at this and said "Well, it seems things are back to normal around here now! Say, Gracia, I never saw Naga wear that ring, and her costume wasn't really capable of hiding such a trinket unseen, so, where did you keep it all these years? Gracia smiled and pointed just below her neck. Lina stared for a second then went "click!" "Ah, the skull thing..." Gracia nodded.

Lina then went on "So, I suppose we have to do another wretchedly early start tomorrow?" "Oh I hope not!" interjected Phil. "I just got my daughter back and my first grandson arrives with her, and a huge pile of news, and, well, one day to visit at least?" he said, looking hopefully at Gracia. "Hey even I need a rest after traveling with Lina for nearly a week!" smiled Gracia. "Yup. Just keep digging it deeper Naga, queen or not, your time is coming!" Lina smiled back. "Not this again..." sighed Amilia who then was perplexed as the other two women burst into laughter.

By now Phil was playing gently with Arthur and had a smile on his face to suggest life didn't get much better than this. "Gracia," he said gently, without his usual bombast, "Your mother would have been in love..." He held his grandson up and the boy smiled back. "I know Daddy!" Gracia smiled at her father. "Well, I like to think that somehow she does know, Well, at least I will carry on what she showed me with her life as a loving mother." she added. "I've noticed." replied Phil. "Even the breast feeding, something not common among royal women, yet how like her." "Ahh, nothing but the best for my children!" replied Gracia with a smile. Phil chuckled "That's what she said too..."

Grace looked a bit perplexed then said "I thought that was MY line!" "Well, it's yours now," he replied, "and I believe it was your grandmother's before it was your mother's, it's probably one of those inherited things. You can give it to your daughter in her turn." "Oh absolutely I will!" returned Gracia.

And so the afternoon wore on, with family ties being renewed and friendships rekindled. Finally after another major meal, plans were made for a picnic the next day. It wasn't spoken but it was understood that the morning after was to be the big departure, so the little group set itself to the task of getting as much alone time as possible. The guards were out early, the picnic area was secured, and a frivolous day was enjoyed by all. Phil put the day to day business in the hands of some of his more trusted ministers, and managed to enjoy himself without a worry in the world. They saw, and ate, and someone brought a little boat which Zel found himself in charge of rowing, without so much as a by your leave either, they ate some more and ran around or told stories and generally caught up with news and "stuff."

Lina got taken a bit by surprise, twice in fact, the first was that she was invited at all, not being family, the second was at supper when the two sisters presented an outlandish plan they had obviously been working on to have Lina adopted as their middle sister, which seemed like an honour at first, until it was revealed that other two felt they needed someone to keep their house for them, and make sure that they were dressed up properly when they went out to fancy balls with princes and the like, and a servant would need money but a sister could be fed scraps and given the hearth to sleep in. Gracia piped up at one point saying "I think there could be a story in that, I'll have to see what I can come up with..." Lina contributed "Don't forget the part where this sister of yours turns into a big, orange, round, fireball at midnight and blasts the two of you into next week..." The two dark haired sisters sweat dropped and giggled, then Gracia grabbed Lina and while holding her in a headlock rubbed her knuckled into Lina's scalp while the smaller girl yelled and carried on as only Lina could. Lina managed to pull free and rocked backwards, only to find Amilia a of all people grabbing her from behind and doing the same while saying "Us sisters have to stick together!" She then let the squawking red head go and said, with a bright smile "There, now it's official, welcome to the family sis!"

"Oooohhhhhh! And do you know what your new sister says to you about that!" Lina yelled. "Something grateful I expect!" replied Gracia, innocently. "Yeah, or daddy might have to withhold your allowance!" responded Amilia in turn. "Wha...? Allowance!" said Lina who then turned to Phil with an avaricious smile. Phil however had anticipated this and was ready. "Since this was your idea, girls, I think it only fair she be your responsibility. You have to feed her and water her, and take her for walks and play with her everyday." "Oh we will, daddy, we will!" Gracia and Amilia said together, smiling nastily at Lina. Naga added "And Amilia will change the litter in her cage every day!" "I'll what?" asked a startled Amilia. "Good then!" said Phil. "In that case I'll talk to the financial ministers about splitting your allowances with your new sister! It's only just!"

Of course, this opinion wasn't shared by the rest and in short order Zelgadiss found himself taking little Prince Arthur for a walk to get him away from the mayhem as the three women, sometimes sisters, sometimes rivals, ganged up on Prince Phil about money, only to find he really could be a tough nut to crack when the mood took him. Eventually he found a shady spot to sit and watch the sunset as the little boy slept in his arms. He looked down at Arthur and found himself smiling. "I hate to break it to you kid, but your days as the perfect grandchild of Seyruun are numbered, oh yes they are. One of these days I WILL find a cure, and I will marry your aunt Amilia, and we will make little cousins for you who will be so beautiful you just won't have a chance! Not that their father will be any great heck, but their mom will be so pretty she will make up for any short comings! You just wait!" Suddenly a familiar pair of arms were around his neck, it seemed that Amilia had had enough of the negotiating, the bickering, and especially the laughing, Gracia was in fine form after all, and had quietly slipped off to join Zel. "Don't be so silly!" she whispered in his ear as she kissed him. "Their daddy to be is an altogether handsome man, and just because he's temporarily under a chimera curse at the moment doesn't mean he always will be." Zel smiled. "Well, I am glad you believe that too Amilia." he replied.

"Listen you! I have a plan." she went on. "We are going to win this war, find a cure, and fill the palace with so many babies every room is full, just to show them! What do you think of that?" she giggled. "Well, let's leave our bedroom a kid free place..." Zel mumbled back. "Silly, that's how we know when it's time to stop!" Amilia replied. "Right..." replied Zel, feeling like he obviously had little choice in the matter.

"Oh don't worry, I know what you're thinking." Amilia went on. "You are worried about how long it might take to find a cure. Well, it seems to me that any cure for you would be a cure for our children too! So, what we will do is this. We will convince daddy and the council that there is nothing wrong with chimeras and then we'll get married and then you can still look, and we will be together! Oh my Zelgadiss, listen, I know who you are on the inside! You're a man, a beautiful, beautiful man! And there is nothing wrong with the outside either. It takes a bit of getting used to when someone first meets you because it is unexpected, but you aren't ugly, no, you are so beautiful! And what is most wonderful to me, you are mine!" Amilia sighed happily. "Listen love, let's just pretend for a few minutes okay? Little Arthur there is our son, and you are holding him as proud as any daddy could, and I'll be the mommy, and well, we'll just be a family, sort of, for a minute or two!" With that, she gave a happy little sigh and settled down, snuggling into Zelgadiss. Zel said nothing, he just snuggled back, a big smile on his face. However, in his eyes there was a worried look.

A short time later, Gracia, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, wandered over to the happy tableau and said "My, Lord Zel, Prince Arthur doesn't sleep for just anyone, he seems to like you! Would you like a job?" "He's hired already." said Amilia in a dreamy voice. The two sisters exchanged chuckles, and then Amilia popped up and asked "Where's daddy?" "Oh" replied Gracia, "He's back at the picnic site watching Lina gorge her sorrows because she actually didn't get any money out of him for once, Ho, ho, ho..." Amilia popped up and said "I want to ask him something! Be right back!" She took off running to her father.

Zel started to hand Arthur back but Gracia said "Oh, he's so comfy with you, why don't you hold him for a bit longer?" Zel looked a bit uncomfortable, but settled back down with the young prince. "So," Gracia went on, "Unless my eyes deceive me, as if that would ever happen, I take it that my sister, shall we say, likes you? I have the impression I may be in the presence of my future brother-in-law? Perhaps we should get to know one another a bit better?" Zel turned sorrow filled eyes to the Queen and said "Up to a few minutes ago you would have been right, but, now I do need to talk to you!" "Huh?" said a puzzled Gracia. "Uh, your sister and I were just talking about our future. I'm afraid she's getting to the point I always feared would come, she's getting tired of waiting. You see, as the Heiress to Seirune she has to have an Heir of her own, and Prince Phil fears for her safety if the child is a chimera. I can't guarantee that at any children I ever make while I'm like this will be normal, so, we can't have any babies or get married until I get cured."

"See, I started out trying to be a famous swordsman, then one day I foolishly wished to be stronger and faster in the presence of my great-grandfather, who happened to be the famous Rezo the Red Priest." "Yes, I have heard of him." said Gracia, somewhat impressed with Zel's lineage. Zel went on "I don't know if he thought he was helping, or being spiteful, but, this is the result of his spell to grant my wish. I am living proof you must always be careful what you wish for. Now all I wish for is to become normal and resume a normal life. Until a few minutes ago, that included marrying your sister, but now, well, she's getting impatient. She wants to convince the council and your daddy to let us get married on the vain hope that any children we have can be cured if my cure is found. My fear is this. We won't find one. In fact, the more I look, the more I'm convinced that there isn't one. If there is one, then the secret died with Rezo when Lina destroyed the part of Shabradnigdo that emerged from his eyes. Look, I'm not made of stone on the inside. If she really tried I'd give in, I know I would, and I wouldn't put it past her to try a crazy scheme like confronting everyone when it's obvious she's carrying my baby under her heart. Then what? It wouldn't matter to me if she wasn't who she was, but this isn't just me, her, and our possibly mixed baby we are dealing with here, it is also the succession of the royal house of Seirune!" Zel shook his head. "Oog!" said Gracia helpfully. Zel took a deep breath and went on. "So, I've had to make a quick and painful decision, Lady Gracia, and I think I will need your help. I need to go and not return, perhaps forever. I don't have any more hope for a cure, not really. And with this war coming there will be too much to do to look for one even if I still wanted to. I wonder if I can just slip away and pretend to die in battle?"

Gracia looked serious for a minute then said "I do see your point, but I don't think your solution is the right one. I can only council you this, wait till the war is over and see what the outcome is. It maybe that the whole issue is rendered academic as the west falls before an invader. I don't know. Don't be hasty is all I can say. And we have some magic resources in Westhold that weren't available to those of us that were raised under the Mazoku shield. For example, the magic of the gods wasn't cut off from the people like it was here, and, well, there are a few other resources too..."

"I thank you for your encouragement, but no, I think I must just go." said a sad Zel. "Okay, I will do nothing before the war. But if we win, I will tell her what I have decided and take the pain with me for the rest of my life. Please, Your Majesty, I want to do the right thing, will you help me?" Gracia nodded and said "Okay, but the first thing will be to decide what really is the right thing... Take this next while to think on this, Lord Zel, and let us talk once more, after all that must be done is done. Things may look different afterwards." "I will wait, lady, but my mind is made up on this, I will leave. I can't have her carry on waiting for what will never be." Gracia sighed, then looked up and said "Oh, here she comes. Look cheery." She then took Arthur back as Zel affected a smile on his face.

"Weee! We have such a wonderful daddy!" Amilia said as she bounded over and gave Gracia a quick hug. "Well, naturally." replied her sister. "You don't think I'd have let just anyone be my father do you? OH HO, Ho, ho." "Silly, but I can't argue with that I suppose, Ha, ha, ha." replied Amilia, wincing only slightly at Gracia's laugh. "So, what has the all giving one done now?" asked Gracia. "Simple, he twisted around my finger, like a good daddy should, and agreed that since there wasn't going to be any battle for at least a couple of weeks I could ride back to Westhold with you so I could have a chance to get to know you better! I did have to promise to go back at the first sign of trouble or when he sent for me, but we get to spend a few days together at least!"

Gracia smiled and congratulated her sister on her little triumph, but inwardly she was disturbed, Amilia was welcome, but a big responsibility if things started to go wrong. Yet, if trouble did come, who better to send Arthur back to Seirune with? At that point her father and a grumpy looking Lina also shuffled up. "Well, my dears, natural and adopted," Phil said, taking a slight verbal dig at Lina who only looked grumpier, "it is getting dark out. We have had one glorious day of forgetting about the outside world. Alas, it is over now, and with a breaking heart I must bid us all return and prepare for tomorrow's departures." With that the family prepared to leave. Lina was going back with Gracia to make sure she arrived safely and collect her reward, or at least that was her official reason for going. Gracia of course had to go and her baby went with her, and Amilia was going too.

As the girls went on ahead Phil managed to privately talk to Zelgadiss. "My heart trembles at sending Amilia into a war zone, indeed it wishes I could hold both my girls here in safety, but there is no real safety anywhere against the horror Gracia has spoken of. So, I am letting Amilia go, because if worse comes to worse, she never shall see Gracia again, and I want her to have had some time, however short, to be with her sister." He sighed a deep and bitter sigh. "Lord Zelgadiss," he said, being unusually formal, "I beg a favour of you. Go with Amilia tomorrow and be her especial guard? Make sure she is safe. I am sure Lina will help you in this, but she may have other duties to perform too, so I need you to do this for me, I can think of no one I'd personally trust more in this. I leave the ordering of the troops or any other resource you may want to you." "I will make sure she is safe." was Zel's simple but heart felt reply.

The family finally loaded into their carriages, the servants who had been very discreet in the back ground for the whole day were either loaded with them, or were walking back, a last one or two were finishing the clean up of the site, and they were off, back to the castle and tomorrow's early start. 


	12. lChapter11

Chapter 11 xxxxxxxxxx

The next day started all too familiarly for Lina, some poor servant risking a fireball or burst rondo, or other such reward for awakening her way too early so she could get ready for an early departure. Fortunately she managed to resist the urge, this time, and instead rolled over into her pillow and moaned "Oh, war is hell..." But there was no getting around it, and eventually she crawled out of the bed, bidding a fond farewell to her warm covers with a sigh. She got up, shivered a bit till she had a chance to wash with the steaming water brought for her. She found her clothes had been washed and were clean and ready. She wondered for a second how they were dried so fast, then shrugged and dressed. A quick hair brushing, and a few magical accessories later and she was out the door looking for the breakfast table.

She could see on the faces of some of the servants that they had been up earlier than her by hours, that is, those that had been lucky enough to get to bed at all. She shook her head, obviously traveling around with Naga was never going to be the same as the good old days. She shook her head some more as she followed the servant into the dining room. Naga, a missing crowned Princess, and a Queen. But even more amazing, a wife, a mother, and starting to act mature, with her own Naga twist to it all of course. She even chuckled as she sat down. "You're happy this morning." stated Zel, who was currently the only other person at the table, sipping on a cup of tea. Lina smiled at him and said "Well, I was just thinking about how Naga has changed and stayed the same at the same time, if you know what I mean." "Well, not fully, I don't know her like you do, but I get the principal." he replied with a small smile of his own. Lina thought he looked sad, sadder than she had ever seen, but all he would say was that he had been up all night to help with the preparations. Lina felt saddend by her friends discomfort. This had gone on long enough, there had to be a cure, and she would help find it! After the silly war was over of course. Oh, and Gourry...

At this point Lina was distracted by the arrival of the food cart, which was promptly parked next to her. Her eyes lit up as she surveyed the multitude of dishes, hot and cold, all apparently waiting just for her to devour! In a flash she dug into the repast and soon happy Lina noises were coming from the end of the table where she sat. Zel sat there, sipping his tea. He commented "I told them to make lots, I figured you still needed to catch up from the flying." "Than-koo" came the sticky reply from Lina as she discovered that a little known dainty, toast, while not better than the rice she liked so much, did taste better when it came to having raspberry jam on it. Soon she was down to the last piece and let out an ecstatic little "Yummy!" as she speared the last piece. Only, her fork hit nothing but bare plate.

Her eyes snapped fully open and all her attention focused on the now empty plate. It was the sound of delicate chewing that first made her realise that, yes, Naga was now sitting beside her nibbling on... "MY TOAST! MINE!" she yelled swiping for it only to have Naga shift at the last second so that she missed, again and again, meanwhile sitting there like, well, a lady, sipping tea and finishing the toast oh so daintily. When she was done she wiped her mouth with a napkin as Lina growled in defeat, then she said "Well, I never knew we were adopting a boor! I can see some sisterly intervention is needed if our middle sister is to make something of herself! Manners, manners!" "WHAT?" shrieked Lina "Manners? You? I saw the way you'd gobble everything down when we were traveling together!" "Tut, tut, tut." scolded Naga in return. "When traveling with a glutton like Lina Inverse one sometimes has to resort to less than ideal modes of behaviour in order to get some sustinance into one's self before it is consumed for you!" "Oh, you have see Lina eat..." Zel added dryly.

Lina's eyes started to glow a dangerous shade of yellow as she tried to find the right spell to respond, but was fortunately interupted by the arrival of the second food cart. The poor servant was obviously making for Lina when Naga harumphed and pointed to a spot at the table which placed herself between the cart and Lina. The cart swerved in response to the command. Lina harumphed louder, and pointed to a spot that put her between the food and Naga. The cart swerved back. More haruphs followed, each louder than the last and the cart swerved so violently back and forth that it threatened to spill it's contents. Finally, the poor servant could take it no more, and with a scream he pushed the cart between the two women and fled the hall. Lina and Naga watched him go. "Exitable fellow..." was Naga's comment.

Suddenly she reached out and slapped Lina's hands away as Lina sought to use Naga's apparent inattention to her own advantage. Lina growled back and reached for a poached egg. Suddenly her fork was intercepted by one of Naga's and a sort of sword, er, fork fight was on. The two opponents parried back and forth, strike, block, counter strike, counter block, stroke after stroke, blade, er, tines clashing with tines again and again as the two opponents fought to gain an advantage, perhaps even inflict a fatal wound on their bitter enemy, all the while keeping the poor poached egg in the air, amazingly enough, without breaking the yolk. Zel stared in amazement. Lina's skill he knew, but Naga's skill was at least equal to anything Gourry had shown... at least with a fork.

Amilia entered and sat down beside Zel, an equally perplexed look on her face. "I can't believe Lina and my sister would be so undignified as to fight over food." she said. She stood up and shouted at them "You two! Have you no feelings for the poor cooks who stayed up all night to make this breakfast for us? What about their hard work and skill? Their dedication?" "Their lack of sleep..." interjected Zel. Amilia carried on without missing a beat "This is inhuman! This is unjust! This is..." "My octopus!" shouted Lina triumphantly, grabbing a big plateful of the sea food as she conceeded the egg to Naga, who, despite being distracted by her little sister's speech popped it into her mouth and inhaled, more than swallowed it. Daintily, of course. Amilia was stunned to silence for a second then gave a squeal and practically floated over the table, shouting in a voice even louder than her Justice speech, if that were possible, "NO! All octopus is MINE It's my favourite! They gave you my breakfast by mistake! All kitchen staff to be beheaded at once! GIMME!" With that a three way tussle ensued as the three women fought over the mound of food. Zel sighed and continued to sip his tea.

The squabbling continued for a minute with most of the meat disappearing into the three women when Lina said "Stop it Amilia! You shouldn't eat octopus anyway, it makes you talk funny!" Amilia shot back "That was only that one village, and I never got to eat any of the octopus anyway! Unlike you, or Gourry!" Lina shot a dangerous glance at Amilia who backed off for half a second, allowing Lina to spear one of the last of the morsels with her fork and pop them into her mouth. "Victory!" she yelled triumphantly as Amilia wailed "Lina!" Suddenly Lina turned her head and said "Eh?" Amilia likewise turned her head and said "Gracia?" For Naga had suddenly stopped in mid fight, and was still sitting there, fork poised in mid air, a strange look on her face. "It was you..." she finally said. "Eh? Me what?" replied Lina. "It was YOU!" repeated Naga, louder. "YOU! I know that village! I was hired there several years ago to help the octopi defeat a certain powerful sorceress! But just as I arrived, after a most delicious meal, a dragon cast a spell that knocked me into the water from behind, then it was promptly destroyed by a Dragon Slave! The sorceress was gone when I got out of the water, I always wondered who it was! Now I know! YOU were the sorceress I was hired to fight!" "Er," said Lina, "Yes, I did destroy a dragon there, er, I don't remember seeing you there though..." Naga started to laugh. That laugh...

Poor Zel was just taking a sip of his tea when the laughing started. His reflexes cut in faster than he could stop them and he ended up slopping the liquid over himself and everything else. Amilia was in no better shape, she had been putting a last bit of octopus in her mouth and now found herself unable to stop chewing the fork. She tried to speak but found she couldn't. She had visions of going through life with her front teeth ground down and found that a really depressing though. Lina immediately clamped her hands over her ears and told Naga to stop it. Then she told her friend to quit it. Then, in desperation, she even said "Please!" Finally she howled "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS..." and with a lightening like move grabbed something in her pack and "WHACK!", she smacked the Queen across the cheek while shouting "SHUT! UP! NAGA!" Naga's head snapped violently to the side and, miraculously, the sound stopped. Amilia immediatly threw the fork to the ground and checked her dentition, finding to her relief that her teeth were still fine. Zel sighed and began mopping up, and Lina, well, she hugged the thing she had smacked Naga with and, as she tucked it back away, she said to it "Oh thank you, beloved Bunny slipper! We'd have been lost without you..."

Naga swung her face back to look at Lina, a strange light in her eyes. Finally she spoke. "Somewhere, Lina Inverse, someday, VENGANCE SHALL BE MINE!" "Oh knock it off with that right now Naga!" Lina replied. "You started it with that laugh of yours, not me." "Hmph" hmphed Naga in an insulted sort of condecending tone of voice. "Laughter is the result of worldly superiority as you well know, you are just continuing to wallow in your obvious jealousy!" "Me? Jealous of you?" snarled Lina in return. "Are you trying to make ME laugh now?" Amilia interupted, trying to avoid a fight, "Um Gracia, how do they take it in Westhold when you laugh?" she then hunkered down next to Zelgadis, hoping against hope she hadn't put her foot in it.

Her sister suddenly went all starry eyed and hugged her clasped hands to her cheek. "Oh! They love it when I laugh! Especially the King, he can't get enough! Sigh! Men, they might claim to love your body, they may claim to love your mind, but when you find a man who loves your laughter, that's the one to grab girls! He loves my laugh!" "May the gods help Westhold..." muttered Lina, secretly wondering how Gourry felt about her laughter. Amilia was more direct, she turned to the Chimera beside her with a peculiar look on her face and asked "Zel...?" Zel turned and said "What?" then it clicked and he hastily covered up by adding "After all this time you still have to ask?" Amilia smiled and threw her arms around Zel, spilling what was left of his tea for him. "Ah, they say too much is bad for you anyway..." muttered Zel, clearly not convinced. "Ahhh, how cute." murmered Naga.

She then turned to Lina and said "I'm still going to get you..." Lina sighed. "Oh well, it figures. I should have kept that bag of gold we dropped off at the cliffs, now I'll never (sniff) see that reward (sniff, sniff) for helping you..." Tears swam in Lina's eyes at the thought of how one little pass with a Bunny slipper had been the perfect response in the old days, but now had left her destitute once again, conveniently forgetting, of course, that Prince Phil still owed her for taking the trip to get the "Special Ambasador" from Westhold. But she was saved when Naga turned and said "Oh, nothing so crass, Lina! You'll get your money." "Really?" said Lina, brightening up. "Oh, okay then, I guess I can put up with some vengance then!" she continued happily, dreaming of a whole cartload of gold and jewels. At that point breakfast was interupted by an usher clearing his throat in a meaningful way and announcing "His Majesty, Prince Philionell!" as the Prince himself walked into the dining room.

"Good Morning everyone!" he boomed in his usual way, a big smile on his face. It was immediatly obvious that the smile was due in part to the little bundle he carried tenderly in his arms. His grandson, Prince Arthur lay asleep on his grandpa's breast. Instantly all animosity was forgoten and the room lit up with smiles, well, except for Zel who was pretending to mop up the tea still. The two sisters rose and curtsied to their sire. Phil then walked over to Gracia and handed Arthur over to her. "I hate to let you go" he said, rather sadly, "but I know you must." Gracia smiled and handed Arthur back. "Five more minutes while I get changed for the ride." she said quietly. Lina shook her head, a minute ago it had been breakfast with the old Naga she knew, now here was this kind, gentle Gracia who was a complete stranger to her, yet they were one. This was going to take some getting used to. Suddenly Gracia threw her arms around her father and said "Daddy. I just want you to know, no matter how crazy things got in my past, no matter what the future holds, I love you and I'm proud you are my very own daddy!" At a loss for words, Phil hugged her back. Suddenly Gracia broke off saying "I have to get changed and go now or I won't get out of here until tommorrow." With that she dashed off, tears streaming from her eyes.

Amilia stood up, snivelling too and went to her father. "I love you and I'm proud of you too," she said hugging him, "and I understand why you are letting me have this time with Gracia despite the dangers. I hope it's not the last time we see her either." The father and the daughter hugged each other hard. Lina felt a lump in her throat as she thought about how she missed her family too. Yup, after this war it was time to rebuild some bridges. She hoped Gourry would be there to help, but yes or no, it was time to renew her links with her family.

Suddenly Zel was beside her. "Tea?" he asked, offering her a last cup from the pot before they left. "Thanks!" said Lina with a sudden smile. She thanked the gods for her friends, all of them. At this there was a sweep and Gracia made a grand entrance in a black riding outfit and cloak, trimmed in silver and ermine. Lina's breath stopped for a second. This was the same Naga who had spend years clad only in an elaborate, very revealing black bikini? Now she really looked the part of a Princess, and a Queen. Lina thought to herself "Hmmm, clothes really DO make the man, or woman in this case." She thought about the trade mark red and yellow garb she was wearing and decided maybe it was time to look for something different, once she was paid, something she could go to her parents in. He, he, maybe even something that would stop the mouth of style concious Luna, if that was possible. Probably not, sigh.

"Well, I guess that's our cue." said Zelgadiss. "Besides, the sun will be up soon." He bowed to Prince Phil and said "My Lord?" Phil nodded back and said "Yes, it is time to go, lead on Lord Zelgadiss. He handed Arthur back to his mother again, and Gracia tucked her son into a riding sling around her chest. "My Lady" said Zel, being formal, "are you absolutely sure you won't take a coach? If only for the baby's sake?" "I'm absolutely sure." replied Gracia. Zel sighed, he had tried to convince Gracia to use a coach or some other sort of wagon or buggy, if only because of her self confession she wasn't the best rider. Zel had visions of her going splat and taking Arthur down with her. But the woman would not be persuaded, so a rather gentle horse had been found, and Zel prayed there would be no need for speed.

While he was mulling this Amilia went off to get her riding cloak and Phil turned to Lina while fishing a bag off of his belt. "Her Lina, this is yours." he said handing the bag over, which promptly clinked in a most gratifying way as Lina caught it. Money! She looked up, startled. "Er, thanks, I didn't think you were going to start to pay me yet." she said. "Oh I figured you might need it before this was over, and you did do the job of getting the "special ambassador" here safely. He, he, and I threw in a bit for finding my daughter, even though you said you'd do it for free." Lina laughed and hugged Phil too and said, "I think I could get to love being your middle daughter, ha, ha, ha". Phil chuckled and toussled her hair and said "If life had let us I think we would have had one. And she'd likely be about your age. Who knows, maybe the Inverse's got you because the Seirune's couldn't. Ah well."

With that Amilia was back and Zelgadis hustled the crew outside to where the horses, a horse drawn baggage cart, and about twenty of the elite guard were waiting. "Sorry," said Zel, "but I didn't have time to make the proper arrangements with the kingdoms we will be passing through. Anything over twenty guards gets viewed as an invasion if not agreed upon ahead of time. I hope this will be enough." "Hey, don't worry Zel." said Lina. "Too big of an armed force gets in the way of magic anyway." "That's right!" added Amilia as she swung up onto her horse. "Hey Lina! Look! Never let it be said I can't take advice!" said Naga with a chuckle. She pulled back her cape to reveal... "Pants! Oh ha, ha, wonders never cease. You CAN be taught!" Lina laughed, remembering their conversation on the road about dresses and horse back riding. Gracia and Lina mounted. With a final check Zelgadis then mounted too, and gave the order "Let's go!" As the sun rose in the east the little group headed out of the palace gate, destination, Westhold, and war!

They got as far as the main gate when they ran into their first interuption. A small crowd of early morning onlookers had gathered to watch the departure. They were respectful and kept back so the group could pass, but as they came out one voice, a woman's, suddenly called out "Miss Lina! Lina Inverse! Princess Amilia! Sir Zelgadiss, please, I need to come with you!" Zel kept the troop moving as he looked to see what was the disturbance. The crowd parted around the mystery woman. She was young, tall, with straight black hair and a priestesess garb. Amilia and Lina recognised her at the same time. Lina called out "Sylphiel?" and Amilia called out "Halt!" The troop stopped.

"Hey!" said Zel a little testily, after all, supposedly it was he that was in charge. He rode over to the young White Priestess and said "Sylphiel! It is nice to see you again, but we are in a hurry, please be brief." "I want to come with you, please." repeated the tall, darkhaired woman. "Why?" asked Zel. "You will need healers in the upcoming war. I have had a vision that it will be bigger than anyone thinks. Oh please Lord Zelgadiss, I don't mean to be rude, but if you say no I will walk there if I have to, but I feel I need to get there." She sounded desperate, which was unusual for the mild Lady. Zel looked helplessly at Lina. Lina rode over and said to Sylphiel "What was your vision?" "Hordes and hordes of men from the east, and few, too few, men in the west to stop them, yet they were going to try. I have no vision to the outcome, only that many, too many, get hurt or killed. I have to help, no healer could ignore that vision! Please Lina, Zelgadiss, let me come?" Zel sighed, this wasn't in the plans, but he said to Lina "Can we use a White Sorceress?" He then said to Sylphiel "You don't even have a horse." "I - I'll walk..." she replied.

Lina spoke up. "I'm light weight, and she isn't much heavier, really. I can load my kit on my horse. She can ride on the baggage cart. I don't know any better than you do Zel, but, visions shouldn't be denied." Zel nodded slowly. "Okay, make it so, and let's hope we have no more interuptions." In a quick minute Lina's pack was tied to her saddle behind her, and Sylphiel was seated on the cart beside the driver. Then they were off again. Naga rode close to Lina and said "Friend of yours? But she does look familiar." "I think you met her when we helped that elven twit Lark to stop Shabradnigdo. Naga looked back and said "Oh yes. Now I remember. She was a good healer if I remember, so good that when she bopped the monsters with her stick she'd actually give them healing instead of knocking them silly. Ho, ho, ho, but not her fault, that's what white magic does to you. I shudder to think that's the sort of girl my father wanted me to be..." "Now, now, she means well." replied Lina. Amilia piped up "What will you tell her about Gourry?" Lina sighed and said "The truth, what else can I say?"

The crew rode on into the day and by lunch were back in the now oh so familiar little village on the way. Lina was begining to wonder if she should invest in the inn since she was spending so much time in it. Zelgadiss had sent men with money ahead and ordered up a big lunch for them all, and it was ready and laid out. The usual crowd of onlookers was there, at a safe distance of course. The meal was set outdoors and was rather good, and abundant. The four women and Zel made up what was nominally the head table and the guards took it in turn to eat at the other tables, or stand guard, while the hotel staff fed and watered them, and the horses too. A surprise was the appearance of a smartly dressed young man serving as waiter to the crowd and the head table. In fact Lina almost didn't recognise him at first, until he started to sweat nervously around her and she took a closer look.

"You!" she said in amazement. "Him?" said Amilia, Gracia, and Sylpiel at the same time, and Zel said "Oh, him!" "Me?" said the waiter, appearing frightened. "Yes, yes, him!" said the owner of the inn as he came up. "You know, it was so fortunate he met you two" he went on. "He started out working to pay off his debt, and by the time he was done he was so well trained and so keen a worker it was to my advantage to hire him on! I thank you for sending him to me!" He then lowered his voice into a conspiratorial whisper, as the ex loudmouth, now waiter, Floater, for that is who he was, scuttled off. "Truth to tell, if the sparks I feel flying between him and my daughter catch hold, like I think they will, I may yet get to retire earlier than I had feared, and have some grandchildren to enjoy! Oh yes, it was a great day for me when he picked on you, Miss Inverse! Thank you!" "Uh, well, you're welcome then..." said Lina who then couldn't hold it any more and broke out in laughter. Zel joined merrily in, and soon the whole table was laughing, even the ones who didn't know why. And they laughed the more when it was finally explained to them. The rest of the meal went rather smoothly, but Lina couldn't help but notice that Sylphiel didn't have her usual sparkle about her. After the meal they set off, and Lina made a point of dropping back and talking with her.

"So, Sylphiel, what's on your mind? You seem preoccupied. Was there more to your vision?" she asked. "N-no" the other girl answered a bit hesitantly. "But, although I felt good when I decided to come, like I had made the right choice, a shadow fell on my heart at the same time, but I don't know why. It is strange..." She sighed. Then she asked "So, where is my dear Gourry, Lina?" She stopped, then corrected herself. "No, your dear Gourry..."

Lina hung her head. "Oh?" said Syphiel in a soft, yet shocked manner. She whispered "It cannot be, Miss Lina! The two of you were so much in love..." Lina raised a sad face to Sylphiel and said "Yes, but do you think I could see that until it was too late? I may be the world's greatest Sorceress, as some like to say, and even I joke about it, but when it comes to the heart I am woefully naieve and afraid. He asked me to marry him, Sylphiel, more than once! I always had some excuse, even my usual threat of violence, which is really my way of hiding my fear. The last time he asked was about three weeks ago. It was just up the road here in the next little village we are coming to as a matter of fact. We were discussing our future and it looked bleak, no money, no prospects of getting rich one last time. Hell, I even was contemplating working for my sister..." Lina paused for breath and Sylphiel asked "Miss Lina? Are you okay? You look blue..." "No, no, you don't understand." Lina responded. She gulped and went on "I have some unfinished family business with my sister Luna, and I left home under a cloud that was especially centered on her. To be blunt, I am afraid of her. I was afraid that night too. I was tired, and hungry as well. When he asked me to marry him I did the one thing I never did before. I laughed at him. I laughed in his face. Oh, but Sylphiel! I didn't say "No!", nor did I mean that! I just wasn't able to think about it right then. But it must have seemed like the ultimate rejection to him.

I soul searched myself later that night, Sylphiel, I really did. I forced myself to stop dodging the question and give an answer. And the answer was "Yes! Yes! And a thousand times "Yes!" I love him. I want to be his wife! I want his babies even. Ha, but the joke was on me. I went down the next morning meaning to tell him, and he had paid up all our debts and left in the night. That means he left with nothing whatsoever in his pocket. We were that poor, but we were going to split the bill. He left me a note, I have it in my bag. He said he was sorry he was a failure and that he was going so he could protect me from himself. He wished me all the best, wanted me not to grieve his going, and blamed himself for looking into my eyes and getting lost in them. I haven't seen him since. Now this war has blown up in our faces and here I am." She sighed heavily and sniffled back a tear or two. "I would just like one last chance to explain it to him." she concluded. A sniffle came from Sylphiel too and she said "Oh Lina!" "Sylphiel" said Lina quietly "If you find him first, just promise me you'll take care of him."

"Lina!" responded a shocked Sylphiel "I have my feelings it is true, but no, I would never take him away from you! I'd make sure you had your chance to talk to him. But you needn't worry, he doesn't love me and never has. It's you he loves Lina, and always will. If he doesn't end up with you, there will be no woman who will take your place. You may trust me on this!" Lina gave a brave if tearful smile to Sylphiel and said "I will Sylphiel, I will, it's just so hard sometimes. The heart is a new world for Lina Inverse I'm afraid..." "Lina, listen, you'll be okay, and so will he, no matter what happens." said Sylphiel with a smile. "You are just growing up somemore. It's something we never stop doing as long as we live you know, there is a time for everything, and before now was not your time to be thinking domestically. Now you are ready." "Thanks Sylphiel. You always did have a way with words." smiled Lina.

"But tell me," she went on, "why the shadow on your heart? I hope your future doesn't bode ill?" "I feel like I am riding towards some sort of personal danger, or maybe a crisis, Miss Lina. That's all I know, right now." Lina smiled and said "Things must be better, you are back to calling me "Miss" Lina. Ha, well, call me anything you want if it makes you comfortable." The two women spent the rest of the afternoon chatting on and off as the party progressed back towards the north and the east. Lina pointed out the trees where she had cried her heart out, then later, the hotel where the proposal and subsequent misunderstanding had happened. Sylphiel had something appropriate to say at these spots and Lina finally began to see that Sylphiel's meekness was somehow a strength for her and not a weakness. "Maybe they will inherit the earth someday after all." she thought, remembering an old prophecy she had heard in her travels.

It was a good day for a journey, summer was at its height, and if the region could have used some rain, never-the-less it was rich and beautiful, with fruitful fields and resplendant vineyards. This was, after all, Zefielia the fruitful, Zefielia the fertile and fecund, home of the Eternal Queen! Lina was in familiar territory. And as the party approached the capital her apprehension grew. She longed to beg Zel to turn aside like she had before, but she knew he could not. No, the main road was the road for official parties, and he had no choice, this time. She just hoped she wouldn't meet any of her family. Especially her sister. In fact, she was in a low level panic about it. Despite herself, she found herself trying to crouch down in her saddle. She couldn't help herself even though she realised it actually made her stand out more. She also had to resist the urge to leap down and walk, she knew she'd hold the group up, increasing their time in town, and not really be well hidden anyway. So she gritted her teeth, held her head up, and regreted fervently wearing her usual red and yellow costume, it was a real trademark thing of hers from before she left home, her all powerfull sorceress look she had called it. Luna had been more practical and used phrases like "walking eyesore"...

Lina went over a mental list of the people she used to know wondering what they looked like now, if she'd see any of them, and if they'd be recognisable. She certainly had plenty of faces to look at too. As they rode into town there was a curious throng on the streets watching them. Some of the faces looked so damned familiar too, but she couldn't put names to them. Just as well, just as well, if word went around that "Little Lina" was back it would be sure to reach certain ears, and, gulp, she might, come...

Suddenly, to her horror Zelgadiss called for a halt. A halt! Here, in town! She looked around, fearfully. Was Luna confronting them in the streets? She realised she was panicing and being silly, but she peeked around front half expecting her sister to be standing there in her armour as a Knight of Cephied, demanding they hand over Lina. What she saw was about as bad. They were stopped in front of a large hotel, obviously they had been expected. The horses were being stabled, Zel was presenting some sort of credentials to an official of the queen, Lina had no trouble recognising the uniform, and then she saw it. IT! The little sign beside the name of the inn proclaiming that this was one of the places owned by her sister.

"Wha-what are we doing?" she asked in a panic to anyone in general. "Um, stopping for the night, like we planned." replied a puzzled Amilia. Lina looked around. Sure enough, the sun was definitely headed down. "Oh, oh yes, oh my, Amilia I'm, I'm going to need help here..." "You're positively shaking with fright!" said a curious Gracia also noticing Lina's state. "Yes, whatever is wrong Miss Lina?" asked a concerned Sylphiel. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" said Lina. "It-it's Zephielia you see, and we are stopped at a hotel owned by my sister L-Luna..."

"Oh, I get it" said Amilia softly. "Okay, don't worry so, Lina. We will help you. Besides, she might not show up. I don't think Zel has given a list of individual names, just that we are a party of diplomats. We shall see. Anyway, come, we can go inside now and get you hidden in a room. Come to mine tonight okay? You can sleep in my bed if it will help you feel better." "No, no Miss Amelia" spoke up Sylphiel. "You need this trip to get to know your sister better. Lina can stay in my bed." Normally Lina might have had misgivings about this arrangement but she was so grateful that someone even cared that she managed to blurt out a stuttery "Thank you" and slump off her horse, allowing herself to be lead into the hotel, where she was packed straight way to the room. And there she stayed.

Fortunately, Sylphiel didn't want to join the throng at the table, or at least so she said, and Lina wasn't left alone. Some supper was sent up, even a hot bath which Sylphiel managed to get Lina into, allowing her to soak some of the tension out while Sylphiel massaged her shoulders. Little by little, Lina began to relax. Finally Lina breathed a sigh of relief and settled down. "Thank you Sylphiel." she said in a bit of a dreamy state. "I am so sorry to put you through this. I have a real phobia about my sister, and her stick, and I'm just not ready this trip to face her. I wouldn't be able to remain calm, and if I panic I'd probably blow whatever chance I had of reconcilling with her. I wish we hadn't had to stop, but, here we are."

"And here you are, Miss Lina." said Sylphiel handing her a cup of wine. It was a good, light, local wine, not too sweet, not too tart, and just right with the alcohol content. Plus, Sylphiel had added a few of her own herbs to improve on the relaxation effect. Nothing potent, just a little bit sophorific. It was enough. Soon Lina was well relaxed and if not ready for bed, atleast able to get out of the tub and settle down. "I owe you one, Sylphiel, thanks." she said. The black haired girl smiled and was starting to say she was owed nothing when a knock came at the door. Lina hid in the bedroom as Sylphiel opened it, but it was only the Queen and the Crowned Princess come to say goodnight. Lina came out and talked to them for awhile. Again she realized that Gracia hadn't touched a drop of alcohol. Wow, a reformed Naga, wonders really never did cease. Anyway, the plan was the inevitable early start in the morning, so it was off to bed for the lot of them. And since the night passed without incident, Lina actually had a good sleep.

Naturally, morning was early, the rotter, and woke Lina out of a very pleasant dream about her wedding night. Gourry had just gotten to the part in their wedding night where he was heaping praise on her enormous bosom when "POP" reality called in the form of Sylphiel with a candle telling her to get ready to leave by sun up. Lina sighed and took a minute to try and fix the dream in her memory, then noticed the large breakfast in the room. She washed quickly, got dressed, realised someone had washed her clothes for her (this had happened a lot lately and she was begining to like it actually) and sat down to eat. Maybe it was the dream, or the hour, or the fact it was Zephielia, or some combination, but she actually wasn't that hungry this morning.

Soon there was a knock on her door and Gracia and Amilia were there to take her out to the horses. Lina went out and mounted her horse, and looked around as the rest of the crew was getting up too, and the guard was forming. Zel was issuing orders. Suddenly Lina felt a tug on her pant leg and looked around to see a little red haired girl pulling on her clothes. The little girl beamed up at Lina and said "Are you Lina Inverse?" Lina knew panic, but had never in her life experienced a full blown panic attack before, and she vowed afterwards to never do that again, but, between the tension she was under just being home, the lack of sleep, in spite of Sylphiel's relaxation draught, and the fact the kid looked familiar, due no doubt to the fact that she was Zephielian too, Lina just suddenly lost it. A loud scream of terror split the air as first Lina shrieked at the kid, and then Lina's horse shrieked at Lina's shriek, and suddenly there was a thunder of hooves and Lina bolted for the edge of town.

Some of the guards and a few of the towns people had hit the dirt at the sound. Others had popped their heads out of windows. A few guards had jumped on Gracia and Amilia, which didn't make them feel all that happy. Zel shouted at Lina to stop then threw his sheet of orders down and stomped on the ground a few times in frustration. Finally the pandemonium quieted down, order was restored, and the troop was off, a rather steamed Zel in the lead with Amilia trying to comfort him, while Sylphiel and Gracia discussed the merits and demerits of shrieking sorceresses. The little girl had, of course, run off crying, and was presumed to be somewhere getting comforted by her mother. For all that, that was the only incident involved with them leaving town.

About a mile out of town they caught up to a red faced Lina who was both embarrased and quite angry at herself at the same time. She looked so pathetic actually, that Zel had to let go of the anger he was trying to save up to use on her. "I'm sorry Zel" she said, "I'm sorry everyone! I can't really explain but that little girl just, well, she reminded me of me when I was that age, and I just, it just, uh, well, you saw what happened..." "Yeah, yeah." said Zel quietly. "Well, I remember you were so afraid of this place you had us go around when we came up to get the Queen the first time, I suppose I can't say I wasn't warned. But Lina, she couldn't have been more than four years old..." "I am really sorry Zel." Lina replied. "I can face down Shabradnigdo himself and stare the likes of Hellmaster Phibrizzo in the face, even prepare to battle million man armies, but I am terrified to death of my sister, and just being home in Zefielia was too much of a razor's edge for me, I fell off."

"It's okay Lina" piped up Amilia who was still riding next to Zel. "I remember how you acted when Miss Filia gave you your sister's letter. I mean, you prepared your own tomb to save her the trouble, I can well imagine you are mortally afraid of the woman." She then smiled at Lina and added "Look, try not to do this again, and we will not speak of it any more, okay?" "Deal!" said Lina with a relieved smile. With that she fell back into the center of the troop near to Gracia. Or more like Naga, judging by the look on her face. "Oh, just don't say anything!" Lina said curtly. And amazingly, Naga didn't, but that smug smirk of hers spoke volumes anyway. Lina wished she could wipe it off her face, but alas, she had put it there, she was just going to have to bear it. Sylphiel asked in a sympathetic tone "Is there anything we can do Miss Lina?" Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat lessened by the fact that she couldn't keep a giggly smile off her face either. Lina sighed "Oh, just ignore me till I get over it, I don't have the time to tackle my estrangement with my sister right now.

Sylphiel replied to that "I don't have a sister, what's it like?" Lina looked at her sharply, but the girl was sincere. So an answer was in order. "Oh, I think for most people it's wonderful." Lina said with a sigh. "I mean, in theory, but don't ask me for details, I'm one of the dysfunctional ones." "Oh it's nothing of the sort!" spoke up Gracia, rather loudly. She was still riding beside the other two women. "Little sisters are an annoying pain! They never know their place, get into all your stuff, and think they are just as good as you when in fact they should be waiting on you hand and foot!" "Hey!" came the shout from the head of the line. Obviously, being only several feet away, Amilia had heard, which was doubtless what Gracia had wanted anyway. Amilia gave Zel a pat on the shoulder as he was obviously, even from behind, rolling his eyes to the heavens, then she let the column surge ahead so that she fell back to where the others were.

"I heard all of that!" she said as they caught up to her. "I'd tell you how unjust you are, but I know why you said that. You're just plain jealous!" As she said that she made a peculiar sign where she held up her right hand clenched in a fist, except for her little finger which was proudly extended for all to see. "Hmmph! As if! Of you?" retorted Gracia, seemilngly unimpressed. She then asked "Oh, did mommy teach you that one too?" "Yup!" beamed Amilia. "Well don't look too smug!" came back Gracia holding up her own right hand in the same way. "Now that I'm back he'll remember that this one was a much better fit!" "No he won't!" Amilia replied passionately. "And what's more," went on Gracia, "I've been practicing with this one, so I'm twice as strong as I was before, which was always stronger than you anyway." As she spoke she held up her left hand in the same little finger extended fashion and waved it in Amilia's face. Amilia responded in the same way and said "You think it's easy to bend stone? Ha! I'm going to be the stronger when I'm done, and I'm almost there!" "Uh, your Majesties..." said Lina rather flatly, "If it isn't some sort of state secret, what's with the mysterious hand signals? "Hmmm? Oh, you don't know this one?" asked Amilia. "It was something our mother taught us." She held up her right hand again and said "This is the little finger you use to wrap your father around." Gracia nodded and held up her left hand and added enthusiastically "And here's the one for your husband!"

Lina looked over to Sylphiel and groaned while the raven haired girl burst out into a pleasant laugh. "Oh, I see what you mean" she said. "Yes, my father was rather wrapped around my little finger too, he, he, he. And thank you your Majesties, for demonstrating what having a sister is like!" "You're Welcome!" the two sisters piped up at once. "Well, I'd have gotten to the teamwork if I'd had some time." muttered Lina. Lina looked down at her hands and said, quietly, "I never got much of a chance to wrap my dad around this one, I was too busy with Luna to notice..." She looked over to her other hand and went on "And this one was just trailing along minding it's own business when Gourry came and wrapped himself around it. I can't believe it now, but there were times I really tried to make him let go. Ha, ha, how ironic then, just when I finally decide to close my hand and grasp him tightly forever, he takes me the wrong way, and slips off..."

She shook her head sadly. She felt someone lift her right hand and turned to see Gracia lift it to her mouth and give her a kiss of friendship on the back of her hand, then hug it to her cheek. As she let it go again Gracia said to Lina "We'll win this thing Lina, and then we'll find your Gourry. It's something I didn't mention a minute ago, but, men have little fingers too. I am hopelessly wrapped around my Alfred's finger, and as for Arthur, why he was born with his daddy and me wrapped tightly around his!" Lina smiled, and then laughed out loud. "Yep, that's Gourry! Got me wrapped around one of his jellyfish like tentacles! And I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. Ah me, if he gives me a second chance I'll wrap him around all my fingers so tight it cuts the circulation off!" "There! That's the spirit!" said Gracia with a big smile of her own. With that the party carried on and the day was pleasantly spent by the women. Some of their banter even got some of the guards chuckling, which basically made for a most pleasant journey.

Except that Zel couldn't relax his guard. He confessed to Amilia at one stop that he kept seeing Shadow Warriors behind every rock and bush. She hugged him long and thanked him for his vigelance. He hugged back, perhaps sadly. But despite the tension, they made good time with no incidence, and one day the high road to the narrow pass stood before them. There was a greater sense of excitement now as the troop rode up to what was clearly the border of the known and unknown worlds, indeed, except for the small gang of friends, none of the other riders had been that far east in their lives! They clattered up the pass, eagerly wondering what they might see at the top. Well, the humans were eager, no one seemed to stop and ask the horses how they felt about climbing a steep rocky trail with people on their backs, but, for all that, the top was reached and there before them was the high gate with it's big iron door. Lina could now understand the peculiar construction and it made sense. They really could reverse the position of the locks and the walkways and fight against any enemy encroaching from the east. She gulped and fervently started wondering who to pray to that that would never happen.

Now Gracia rode forward letting the guard of Westhold see her. There was a clang and the big iron door swung open. Out came the captain of the garrison without weapon or shield, clearly he knew who she was. "Your Majesty! Health and welcome to you, we are glad at your safe return!" "Thank you good captain!" replied the Queen. "It is good to be back. Please allow me to introduce to you my younger sister, the Crowned Princess of my homeland Serune, the Lady Amilia." With that she motioned Amilia to come forward and be recognised. "I vouchsafe for her and the rest of the company here with me." Gracia went on. "I think you may know some of the others, the Lord Zelgadiss, the Lady Lina, and a new guest, the Lady Sylphiel. also, these 20 brave men who have ridden guard these many leagues, I vouchsafe for all, and crave you permit their entry." The captain chuckled and said "Permiting such a party into our lands is allowed to me, but I must impose the following stipulation, that you ride straight to Stronghold and present yourselves to the King for his final approval." Gracia chuckled back and said "You do your office well good sir! And thanks to you for it!" With that they were waved through the gate.

A small party of riders was detailed to go with them, as befitting the return of the Queen and the Heir apparent, and Gracia even returned the exit visa, which was quickly framed and hung in a place of honour. With that, they were off eastward again. "I didn't realise you were so formal" said Amilia. Lina seemed to think you were laid back in this country." "What do you mean?" asked Gracia. "Oh the vouchsafing business and all that." was Amilia's reply. "Oh, you don't understand." said Gracia. "I could come in, because I am a citizen, the mother of a citizen, and of course, the Queen. But only the King can override the authority of the Captain on duty of any boarder guard. If that man had wanted to, he could have left the rest of you outside the gate, and even I couldn't say otherwise. You see, at least while he is on duty, he is ultimately responsible for the security of that boarder, and by extension, of the whole country, so, only the King, the personal embodiment of the country, can say "yes" if he said "no". Now, I didn't think we'd have any trouble getting through, but it is good to follow a protocol if you have one. So, little sister, here is your chance. If you, or Lina, or anyone else want to get me into trouble, just start something." "Oh, big sister! Really!" said Amilia, but with a laugh. Lina, who had been riding just behind chuckled "Tempting, tempting..." "Just promise me you'll do it privately okay?" said Zel to her. Lina giggled and actually stuck her tongue out at him which put such a perplexed look on his face that Lina and the two sisters had to laugh. With that they ate up the distance to Stronghold. 


	13. mChapter12

Chapter 12 xxxxxxxxxx

Riding through the night, a tired but happy party reached the city as the sun was rising above some low clouds in the east. "Good timing." said Gracia, looking at the clouds. "Looks like rain. Well we'll be safely inside by then." In short order they had reached the gates. Horns sounded and there was no challenge as the riders swept up through the gates, which stood open to them. In little time after that, they had reached the courtyard and, while the captain of the guard saw to the stabling of the horses, and billeting of the troops that came with them, Gracia, with Arthur in her arms, led Lina, Amilia, Zel, and Sylphiel towards the steps to the great hall. Suddenly she gave a little squeal and rushed up the steps towards the palace. She was met there by the King and Prince Erik who were rushing out to meet them. Gracia found herself swept off her feet by strong, loving arms and for several seconds she just floated, secure in his arms, lips locked together in a kiss that spoke to the world of great passion that was between the two lovers. Finally she was slowly, reluctantly even, returned to the ground. Some private "I love you's" were exchanged, then Gracia got back to business.

"Success my Lord! The West will not attack, and they might even man the western wall at the high pass. And look! A special visitor! My very own sister Amilia!" The King turned a charming and welcoming smile on Amilia and bowed. "Greetings and welcome to our humble kingdom Lady of the West! I hope we will make your stay here as pleasant as possible, war footing or no." Amilia giggled a bit and bowed in reply and said "Thank you, my Lord the King, it is already pleasant! I am grateful to you for making my sister so happy and sending her back to us, regardless of the circumstances." The King smiled warmly, then turned and greeted the other arrivals.

"Ah, the lovely Lady Lina, you have returned to grace us with your presence, good! Now maybe I can learn a bit about this "old friend" my wife wanted to hide from. I found that strange, but, she usually has her reasons." "Oh, I'm sure you'll end up knowing more than you want to, Your Majesty!" Lina replied with a grin. "And the Lord Zelgadiss! Welcome back, may we not have to hustle you about like we did the last two times." Zel bowed in greeting. "But, who is this?" spoke up Prince Erik, as he gazed upon Sylphiel. "Yes," said the King, "that was going to be my next question too." "Ah, now this is Lady Sylphiel." responded the Queen. "A friend of Lina's it seems, and a visionary too. She met us as we left Seirune claiming a vision had told her to come to Westhold. Lina was happy with her claim as were my sister and Lord Zelgadiss, so here she is." Sylphiel turned he eyes away from Prince Erik and bowed to the King and Queen. "Well, marvelous! And be welcome Lady." said the King bowing back.

"So, how did it go while I was away?" asked Gracia. The King became serious. "We were attacked." he said quietly. "Assassins. Shadow Warriors I think." "Who was hurt?" asked a concerned Gracia. "Well, you were." was the reply. "Huh?" said Lina. "Oh no, who, how bad?" asked the Queen, clearly upset. "Your main double is in the infirmary with a bad slash, one of the other's broke an arm, and another, was, I'm so sorry, killed." Gracia gasped and burst into tears. She handed Arthur to his father and said "I must go to them." "Are they injured?" spoke up Sylphiel. "I am a healer and a white sorceress don't forget! Let me come." "We all can heal, we are all going!" said Amilia with a stamp of finality. Even as they spoke they ran off, mainly because Gracia didn't wait.

A quick dash and they were at the infirmary. Gracia arrived first and went to the bed of the injured woman who was her obvious body double. She took her hand, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry." she said. The woman in the bed smiled at her, and said in a very Gracia like voice "Hey, it's okay, I knew the danger, don't cry for me, I'm getting better." Another, smaller woman, with red hair, was sitting beside the bed, holding the first woman's other hand. She was bent over it, holding it for all it was worth when the crew rushed in. "By the Gods!" said Amilia, "She really does look like you!" The woman in the bed looked away from Gracia and looked, stared even, at Amilia. She gave a weak smile and said "It's little Amy-Amy, isn't it?" using an old childhood name Gracia used to use on her sister.

Amilia gasped. "You prepared her well big sister. She's just like you." she said, surprised a body double would know even childhood nicknames. "She IS me..." said Gracia, quietly. "Eh? What's that mean?" asked Lina walking up to the foot of the bed. The other redhaired woman looked up and over, and said "Lina?" in a quiet voice. Lina thought her heart would stop. The small woman was so like her in face and form. The rest of the room marveled at it too. "Wha-what's going on?" quavered Lina. "It's like looking into a mirror!" "You are" replied Gracia. "Well that's cryptic." muttered Zel, as confused as the rest. Then Lina got it. She gave a little shriek and said in a trembling voice "You mean, you mean, these are our mirror doubles from, from, the magic mirror?" "Yes." said Gracia as she continued to hold the hand of her double and stroke the woman's hair.

Just then a third Gracia walked in from the back room and stopped and stared. Mirror Gracia looked over at her and smiled and said "Kali, honey, it's okay! Look, it's mommy's twin! And she brought her friend, Auntie Lina's twin sister, who is also called Lina." "That's right precious!" beamed the mirror Lina, holding out her arms to the third Gracia. Kali Gracia looked a bit stunned then slowly shuffled over to Mirror Lina and got a hug. She looked rather like a child for all that she had the form of Queen Gracia. Then she said in a quiet way, staring at Gracia and Lina very much like a child "Mommy's twin? Auntie Lina's twin?" Mirror Lina murmured as if soothing a frightened little girl "Yes, they've come to visit us and see what wonderful big girls you are all becoming." "Not Sati" said the girl like Gracia. "Sati's gone..." "Yes baby, Sati's gone." murmured a sad Mirror Lina. "But all the rest of you are still here and we can still love her, that's what's important." "I love Sati, Auntie Lina" Mirror Lina continued to cuddle the girl, or what ever she was. Lina walked out in shock. What was going on? The others followed, equally perplexed. In a minute Gracia joined them, still visibly shaken. "Let me explain." she said.

"When I stopped being so immature, I thought over my life, and I remembered them. You remember we didn't know what to do with them? So we just left them to their own devices?" Lina nodded. Gracia went on "It took awhile, but I located our Mirrors on an isolated mountainside. Life had been cruel to them Lina, they never had our toughness, for all that they have our magical powers. They could never be cruel to anyone even if they were being hurt, or abused. And they were. They were driven from pillar to post, beaten, robbed, and abused, even taking the fall for some of our stunts Lina. Finally they went into a high mountain plain and made the best living they could, eaking out a living by their own hands, on the edge of starvation. They are vegetarians, they can't even kill animals, even fish, for food, so you can imagine how hard it was to grow enough food in a short summered, rocky, mountainous place. We finally found them, and they almost ran away, but they were persuaded to let me talk to them first, and I was able to apologise and make peace. Oh Lina, they have been through a lot, but because of their creation they remain meek and forgiving."

"I was able to move them to a place in Westhold, still in the mountains that they love, but with a better climate, more water, and richer soil. I was even able to get them to accept a small flock of chickens without a rooster, on the excuse of providing fertilizer. They couldn't figure out howcome the eggs wouldn't hatch, until we explained about the lack of a rooster. Then they were willing to do what I hoped they would do and they added the eggs to their diet, since they weren't going to become chicks anyway, and I think it has helped, that and the fact they can grow much better crops where they are now. Soon they were healthy and I was able to interest them in another project. You see, as I was looking for our Mirrors I started getting reports back about the other me's." "Diol's clones!" gasped Lina. "That explains the other look alike!"

"Clones?" said the others in various states of shock and disbelief. A very brief recounting of Lina and Naga's adventures with the chimera making wizard Diol then followed, with a promise to tell the tale in full later. The others quieted down so Gracia could finish. "I found all ten of them Lina. We gave them away something like pets you remember, to what we thought were good homes. But we didn't look carefully enough in some cases. Some homes were good, but they were only pets, just as if we really did do your joke about leaving them in a box beside the road for some kid to find. But most were shabbily treated. Underfed, treated worse than animals, some were bed slaves! Thank the gods Diol made them sterile." Lina put her hands to her mouth in horror, it had never occured to her that might be an issue for the clones. "Others were worked to exhaustion, and one was beaten and abused daily for sport. Those people found out what sport was!" Gracia said with a sudden dangerous fierceness that made the others, even Lina shudder with fright.

Gracia went on. "It was horrible. With a combination of money and magic I collected them together again and brought them to the mountain where our Mirrors are. You see, here's the problem. Diol was able to make ten copies of me, and accellerate their growth to make them the same age as me, physically, but inside they were new born babies! As long as they were under his control they could do somethings, but when we freed them they were little babies in full grown womens bodies! Oh they could laugh like me after a fashion, and do mechanical things like eat and walk, but they couldn't talk, they couldn't think. They were real babies inside, and we didn't see it back then. Oh Lina, they are at best seven years old now, and depending on their past they are in various states of developement. The worst was poor, poor, Sati, she was the one so badly beaten and abused every day. She never had a night go by where she could sleep in peace without nightmares, and she could hardly speak, although she was slowly healing. Oh gods! I hope she is in peace now! Poor thing, let her sleep be undisturbed..."

Gracia broke down again and was comforted, unexpectedly, by the King, who had been standing quietly behind the group all this time. "Let it out love." he said quietly, coming up to her and putting his free arm around her, his other arm still holding their cherished son. Gracia had a small weep, then continued. "The Mirrors are everything we aren't, Lina. They have a patience and a meekness that we never will have. They were happy to become mothers to this poor brood of misfits. And they are doing a wonderful job of raising them to be good girls. They are learning to talk, to read and write, do their numbers. They are a bit young yet for their history, but they make up for it by genuinely playing for the first time in their lives, and having little girl squabbles, and they are becoming a family of sisters."

Lina shook her head in horrified amazement at this story then asked "Why were they here?" The King took up the tale. Speaking softly, with a strong note of regret in his voice he said "It was due to our slackness during the years of peace. We had not provided for a body double to play the Queen, because we never needed one. Then the news of the war broke quickly and we hatched our half baked scheme to send my beloved to her father to enlist his support in reassuring the west that we were no threat, and hopefully get them to be aware of the danger so they would guard the gate of the narrow pass." He then explained that it had to be Gracia, no other ambasador could so quickly establish trustworthy credentials, but, to help her get there safely, they needed to distract the enemy and make them think the Queen was still in residence. The only convincing body doubles available were the Mirror Gracia and the Clones. Mirror Gracia, being able to understand the danger, was willing to help, but Lina's arrival had complicated things, so it was decided to bring the Mirror Lina down too and try to pretend she was staying at the palace to make secret negotiations while the real Lina went with "Grace" to Seirune. Arthur couldn't be separated from his mother, partly because his mother wouldn't hear of it, and partly because it seemed actually safer, so he was sent on the trip too. Meanwhile, Mirror Gracia put on a good show, and as a result there were several attacks on the keep by Shadow Warriors and other assassins.

"That partly explains why you didn't have to cut through them like a hedge row" the King said. "It was still a near thing" commented Zel quietly. "I suspect it was, Lord Zelgadiss," said the King "and I await your report at a convenient time. But first I will finish our tale, then it is time to change and bathe, then food and rest." He went on to detail how, with so many attempts it wasn't surprising one got through. Three assassins broke in, but it took nine other suicidal ones to make a distraction. One attacked the King, but made the mistake of coming at him with the "Queen" between them, and as a result he slashed the poor Mirror in her belly. A glancing blow designed to move her out of the way, she collapsed onto the sword and entangled it long enough for the King to grab the killer by his head and separate his neck from his skull, using his bare hands as a hangman would use a noose. A sharp crack and it was over, except for a lot of yelling for the guards and a doctor. But two other Shadow Warriors were loose in the keep and they got into the back rooms. With Mirror Lina and Mirror Gracia busy at the palace the Clones had to be brought too, the poor things could not take care of themselves, and had not learned to trust enough for someone else to watch them. So they were in the inner rooms, cared for, but out of sight.

Anyway the two murderers broke into side by side rooms. The one room had the now injured Clone named Lakshmi in it and she was quick enough to scream and try to run away. As a result she got hit in the arm with the back of a sword and it was broken, but no worse injuries, as the guards were there quickly and the assassin tried to leave. He ended up getting cornered on the wall of the keep, not without first doing in a couple of the guards, then, seeing no escape, pulled a knife from his belt and stabbed himself to death. The other assasin broke into the room with poor Sati who must have thought she was about to be abused again and could only have frozen too terrified to do anything. The swordsman must have thought he had the Queen, and shoved his sword into her heart. At least it had been mercifully quick. The killer then tried to get away but first a well placed arrow slowed him down, then when he turned to fight a well thrown axe had split his skull, and the invasion was over, leaving a dreadful aftermath. Fortunately, it turned out that Prince Erik had always had an interest in healing and was the Royal surgeon. He issued orders, gave drugs to calm the distraught, called upon the white wizards to use what magic they had and then sewed the Mirror Queen back together.

"You can do that?" gasped an excited Sylphiel, who, until this point had been cringing in the background like the others as the tale of dread unfolded. "I didn't know you could heal wounds like that without magic!" "You can do that?" said an equally startled Prince Erik. "Lady, um, Sylphiel? In our country we have no magic that strong I'm afraid, though if the Royal Sorceress had been able to be here she might have changed that. No, we often have to heal by rebuilding."

"Oh trust me, Lady Sylphiel can do that with her magic." piped up Lina. "But you are right. I remember from the time we fought Darkstar that people who had been outside the mazoku shield were weaker in magic than we who were inside. Anyway, a few years ago I was fighting a powerful magician named Copy Rezo who was a kind of a clone of another great magician called Rezo the Red Priest." "Not to be confused with good!" piped up Zel. "Uh, yeah" said Lina, "it was the original Rezo who turned Zel here from a man to a chimera with a spell, but anyway, in the fight with the copy I got stabbed in the chest near the heart. It was touch and go but Sylphiel here dragged me to a spot where the magic was very strong and brought me back practically from the dead. I was literally about to fall off the razor's edge when she got me back, just in time. Even if she did bang my head on the cave wall." "Eh, he, he, Miss Lina, that was an accident..." sweatdropped a nervous and shy Sylphiel. "Ha, it's okay, I know." said Lina with a smile. "I'm just teasing you. But you did save me, no doubt about it!"

"Wow!" said Prince Erik "What's the scar like?" "Huh?" asked Lina. "What scar." "She could heal you without a scar?" Prince Erik asked as well. "My stichery can save lives, but I can't stop scars from forming." "Oh?" asked Sylphiel in her turn. "Does the poor Mirror Queen have a scar then?" "Well, it's still too fresh to have scarred yet" replied Prince Erik "it's only about a week and a half old. Still, it will form one. And the Queen is only getting well enough now to eat fully, her bowel was nicked and we had to let that heal." "Oh, that long?" said Sylphiel. "Magic works best if the wound is fresh, with time it becomes harder to heal. Still, if the wound is neat, and the bowel not too badly nicked I may be able to help still." "Well, I would be honoured, great lady of the healing arts, if you would try, and even more honoured if you would allow me to become a pupil of yours!" resonded Erik "Errr, well, I don't mind teaching but I'm not great, and by the way, by birth I am a commoner, not a Lady..." said Sylphiel, obviously shy but appreciating the attention. Lina slapped the taller black haired girl on the shoulder and said "Don't be so modest and go show him." With that Sylphiel and the Prince went back into the room where the Mirror Queen was abed.

Lina turned back to Gracia who was clamer now and had taken her son back in a loving protective hug, and said "Well, this has been a tale and a half, but thank you for looking out for them Gracia, you are right, we never dreamed anything like all that would happen to them." "Well, it was the only decent thing to do I suppose." replied Gracia, "Even if there are those who make cracks about the only King with a harem of 12 wives who are really only one wife." she smirked at her husband. The King smiled and replied "Ah, back to the bad jokes, I'm glad your feeling better. I have missed you." Gracia smiled back, looking deeply into his eyes and replied "Missed you too."

There was a soft "Ohh" from the next room, followed by a happy Lina like squeal from Mirror Lina, a "Wow" from Prince Erik, and a "Mom's better!" from the Kali Gracia clone. A happy Mirror Gracia suddenly bounded into the room and said "Well, look at that!" as she tried to show the fully healed wound site without being immodest doing so. Gracia said to her "You have performed above all duty my beloved Mirror lady. You have but to name your reward." "But you have done so much already, my Lady the Queen." replied the Mirror. "Think of it as a gift." Gracia replied in her turn. "Well then, food, for one thing!I'm hungry!" laughed the Mirror Gracia, "And if you could, after the war, persuade the Lady who healed me to teach me and improve my healing arts I would be grateful. I think those of our Clones that will eventually be able to go out into the world will do well with a skill they can live by, and healing should be something they can do. But I need to learn more than I know right now." "Well, I'd be more than happy to!" replied Sylphiel from the doorway where she was standing, "Only of course this horrible war must get over with first." "Of course." responded Mirror Gracia. "I meant when things were calm again." "Yes." said Sylphiel.

"Well, sounds like you got your second wish!" said the King. "Now, follow me and we will grant the first one as well, and eat!" After a brief pause to dress the Mirror Gracia and send the Clone Gracia back to play with her sisters they walked to the dining room. "What do you eat here?" asked Amilia. "I don't imagine you have much access to seafood." "No" replied her sister. "We have to bring it in on ice and that is only possible in the winter, so things like sashimi are rare specialty dishes here. However, we do have fresh water fish, including a delicassy we don't have back home called "trout". And there is beef and chicken and even a bit of pork, and other meats, and then they do all sorts of wonders with vegetables and fruits, including a whole world of berries and things that don't grow in our warmer climate, but rather up on the mountains. I will admit they don't have grape culture here, though there are wild grapes, so I think Lina is in a position, if she invests right, to make a bit on the grape, rasin, and wine trade from Zefielia to Westhold. Mind you I did get a bit of the trade going already as I introduced brandy and wine to the kingdom, er, but that's another story. But there is a native fermented beverage called Mead, for those who wish to drink, and it is made of honey! Depending on how it is made it can be something like a beer or something like a wine. It was tasty, as I remember, but I am just as happy to say I no longer drink it."

"Yes" said the King. "Now we are a family of tea, what was the word again beloved? Oh, totallers, teas totallers, he, he. But we never drank much alcohol anyway and I for one don't miss it." "Yes, there's another trade to invest in." Gracia went on. "They have many fine herbal teas here, including a plant called mint that is second to none for a stimulating herbal tea, but the traditional teas we drink are also not known here. I can see a good trade going both ways." By this time they were seated and the servants were begining to pass around the food. Lina liked the custom they had here of offering the dish and letting the diner take as much or as little as he or she wanted, rather than getting a plate of food with someone elses ideal amount set for you. The small talk continued for awhile and Lina had a good chance to observe the crew. Her Mirror double was also at the table, very quiet and delicate, eating like a bird. Lina was a bit self concious about her big portions, even though she knew she had to eat a lot if she was to have strength for her magic, it was a trade off to being magical in the first place. She was sitting close to her Mirror double and decided to talk with the woman.

"So, errrr, um, Lina!" she said. Mirror Lina looked over and smiled. "Hello Lina!" she said happily. "Yeah, so, I'm curious, what are we? Sisters?" asked Lina "I have no idea, but if you want we can be..." was the reply. "Okay, I guess. So, what's it like being me, only, um, you know, not being me?" Lina asked her Mirror twin. "More impossible questions, Lina? I can't answer that one either, I'm afraid, I have come to finally think of myself as someone apart from you even though I am bound to you in so many ways." said the Mirror girl. "Maybe if we compared notes on a point by point basis?" she added. "Yes, well, that might work." said Lina. "Okay, where to start? You have all my powers and my memories, but you have the exact opposite of my personality, is that right?" Lina asked "So I have heard, being that is how the mirror is supposed to work, but I only really know what I feel about myself." Mirror Lina replied. "Ummm, okay. How do you feel about, oh, uh, well, lets start with basic things. Do you like food? I mean I love it. I know you are vegetarian, but do you like eating?" the original asked. The copy replied " I like filling my stomach when I have hunger, but I don't have your ability, nor the desire, to consume the vast quantities you do. But why would I? I barely use my magic, and don't wear out my reserves the way you do. Oh, I remember how it was when you did it before I became me, but I don't do it here. You see, I just can't go to the black side of magic, I just can't do it, and you never learned much white magic. If Miss Sylphiel, I think her name was that, is able to teach us some of her magic we will certainly use more, and maybe we will need bigger feasts."

"Right!" said Lina slapping her forehead. "I met Sylphiel after you and I were long separated. You wouldn't know her. I have to remember what you knew when you were made. And you have had separate adventures since we parted. I hear some of them were not nice." "No, no, some weren't" said Mirror Lina in a subdued voice. Then she brightened and said "But they weren't all bad either. Even before we met Her Majesty and accepted her offer we did have fun. It was just that we could never convince anyone we weren't you and sometimes it really got scary. But, even though we knew how, we could never bring ourselves to defend ourselves. No fireballs from this Lina. Well, once in awhile to get a camp fire going, ha, ha, ha!" Lina noticed that when her double laughed she had a pleasant ringing sort of laugh, rather than the somewhat strident notes Lina hit. She shook her head, boy this girl had to be the closest person on earth to her, yet she was so different.

"So I take it you can't be persuaded to come down from your mountain to help with the war?" she asked. "No, this is about all we can manage I'm afraid. We can't even bring ourselves to make golems to rebuild fortification walls, our reversed feelings get in the way and we shut down. We may become better with time, but not fast enough for this war I'm afraid. The only reason we could come down to do this business was because we could look at it as saving the life of a baby and a Lady. And it cost us plenty for doing it." The Mirror sighed deeply with sorrow and regret. "We will miss Sita for the rest of our lives, and mourn her."

"As is right for a parent who has to bury a child" sighed Lina in return, sorry that the clone had been killed. "I hope when I have babies of my own I never have to do that, not ever. Do you want babies, Lina?" she asked her Mirror double. The girl thought a minute then said "No, no I don't. I am perfectly happy with the clones, but whereas you want a man and children I want none of that." "Oh." said Lina. "If you don't mind my asking do you want, uh, you know..." She looked over to Mirror Naga and then blushed. Mirror Lina gave her a puzzled look for a minute, then suddenly brightened up and laughed again. "No Lina, it's more direct than that. You want love and sex and babies, I want the kind of love we all need to survive, yes, but nothing physical. And being celibate is where my heart is at, my Gracia's the same way. And why not? The original sure wanted babies, even back then when we were made her clock was ticking loudly, she just got drunk and ignored it, because she was afraid of men, and herself." "Yes, she definitely has changed from when I knew her last too." said Lina.

"Um," she went on. "What about" and here she gulped, even turning a bit blue, "our sister?" "Luna? She just wants a sincere apology I think." said the Mirror. "You planning to make peace with her someday? If you do can I beg a really big favour? Can I meet her sometime? I have all these deep memories of a lady I have never actually met in my whole life." "I mean to try" said Lina, "And if I can arrange it I will certainly will bring the two of you together. You aren't afraid of her are you?" "No, I guess I'm not, not like you, dear Lina." said the Mirror.

And so the rest of the late breakfast went, till it blended into an early lunch. The two Lina's talked and at the end of it they were even friends of a sort. They both realised they had so much that had started out in common, but which was no longer so, that they would never be close companions on the road of life, but they also knew they had a bond that they wanted to retain, and would, as long as they lived. Lina had to admit that if someone had told her this day would come back when the Mirrors were first made she'd have fireballed first and not bothered to ask questions afterwards, so sure she would have been the teller was a wierdo, a freak, and a liar. But here it was. Life was strange. Oh well.

Finally the meal ended, and the hall began to return to normal. The Mirrors disappeared to get the clones ready to go home, the King and Queen also disappeared, and even Sylphiel seemed rather busy discussing matters of medicine and white magic with Prince Erik, who managed to escort her to one of the gardens to take the air as it were. Lina found herself with Zel and Amilia. They gathered some final delicassies off the table, and snagged a pot of tea. They made their way to another garden to fill up the corners and discuss the tremendous events of the past few weeks. They settled into a gazebo to talk just as Gracia's predicted rain began to fall, tinkling softly and musically on the earth. Lina's first statement was "Wow! What a month I'm having! I lose my fiancee even before we make it official, then I find old friends I hadn't seen for awhile and they take me on an adventure to a part of the world I have never seen before in my life. Once there I get drawn in to a dangerous, wild scheme to take the two second most important people in the kingdom, the secret, veiled Queen, and her son, the heir to the throne, on a hiking tour in order to make peace with another kingdom, Seirune. On the way we get attacked by enemies I have never met before, and enemies that I have, then we get driven into the woods, onto some cliffs and up in the air. Finally we make it to Seirune and there I find the mystery person I have been guarding is both an old friend and an old enemy, and the missing Crowned Princess of Seirune, and Amilia's sister, as well as the above mentioned fact she is the Queen of Westhold, Mother of the Heir, and the Royal Sorceress! So then I get to swim around in way too much emotional overload, then we find out there is a war like we've never seen before about to decend upon us. Naturally I get roped into helping..." "Oh like you didn't volunteer!" smiled Amilia. "Roped! Roped I say!" said Lina in reply, but with a smile. "Then we go on a trip through Zefielia where I get to make a fool of myself over some little kid with red hair, finally we get here and who it there to greet me but my very own Mirror double, and eleven other Nagas! No, I'm sorry, ten other Naga's..." she ended, a bit subdued. Zel and Amilia nodded and smiled appropriately at Lina's comments.

When she got to the end Amilia perked up with "You know Lina, you have never said that much about your adventures with my sister, back when she was "Naga the Serpent", sorry, "White Serpent". Won't you please tell us about the Mirrors and the clones?" "Yes" added Zel, "and although I've heard the official story I wouldn't mind a first hand recounting of what it was like to be the power source for a golem, especially one as cute as Piku-Piku-Lina -Chan!" Lina's eyes flashed for a second and she snarled "How'd you like to start by getting a free sample of the Dragon Slave I used to end the fight?" However, her two friends knew her too well and simply laughed good naturedly. Lina smiled back and said "Well, okay, but just a couple of tales for now, or we will be here till long after the war." With that she explained all they had asked to know about. When she was done the others two were amazed. Amilia's eyes just about bugged out of her head and Zelgadis seemed like he wasn't able to decide whether to be amazed or to laugh out loud. "My sister did all that?" Amilia asked. "Er, um, it's hard to believe that a Princess could do all that, it's er,..." "Undignified?" offered Zel helpfully. "Unjust? Bizzare? Wierd? Crazy?" "Yeah, yeah..." said Amilia with a sigh, even as she whacked Zel's arm for being so bold. Then she wished she hadn't, as her hand really, really stung. "Sorry" said Zel, "but you have to remember what my flesh is made of..." "Yeah, yeah..." sighed Amilia again.

The three of them took the rest of the afternoon to hash things out and even to wander the grounds and the Hall, mostly to stay out of the rain. They found that it had started out as a simple hall, a sort of a long, single room house, with the King's throne at one end, raised on a platform, and small rooms off the sides with some out buildings for kitchens etcetra. Over the centuries people had built on and there were other wings attached to the original hall. The most intriguing of all was the tower reserved for the use of the Royal Sorcerer. It was about twenty feet around and about sixty feet high. It was build of solid stone and had a rather elaborate basement with little rooms for use as labs. There were also libraries. Lina was drooling over the books, but alas, they were securely locked up. There was a small main room for meetings. On the floor there was a jumble of some magical lines. It looked like a mess, but Lina knew there would be a way of activating only the lines you wanted so that they formed different patterns. The top of the tower was actually set up for use as an astronomical, or perhaps astrological observatory, and had such a wide view of the surrounding country side it was also useful, when not needed by the sorceress, as a watch tower, as the toops stationed there were evidence of. Lina was amazed, Naga had surely landed a plum of a job, even if she had never gotten to the throne. Then she found the small but comfortable bedroom that Naga must have slept in. Attached to it was a small kitchen and dining room with a view over a small herb garden.

Lina looked over the rows of plants and noticed most of them were cullinary or healing. Well, well, the the royal magic person was well set up, but in a bit of a cloistered way, oh well, better to study with. No wonder Naga went after the King, Lina didn't think she'd like to be cooped up in here very long. Still, someone was obviously doing the gardening, and Lina wondered if they had hired another sorcerer yet, or if there was an apprentice that she hadn't met yet somewhere around. Finally the do it yourself tour ended as the supper bell was ringing. Lina and the others made their way back to the hall and took the places set for them at the great table. The King and Queen entered and took their places at the head of the table.

Lina was a bit shocked to see that Queen Gracia really looked the part, now that she was rested and had had a chance to freshen up. Lina felt she was out of her league in her old friend's presence. For some reason this bothered her, but not in the way she had thought it might. She wasn't jealous of Naga's success in life, nor did she wish to have the same, only, somehow, it meant her friend had changed for all that she was still Naga. Sigh. It must be what a mother feels when the babies grow up, it is wonderful, but it isn't what there once was. "Snap out of it girl," she thought to herself "You knew it wouldn't stay that way forever. After all, I haven't stayed the same. But that's what's bothering me isn't it? Too much change, all at once." She sighed in a melancholy way, then snapped herself out of it and settled down to enjoy the meal.

A lot of the talk was about small things, about the trip, even some amazement and praise for the trip to Seirune in the first place and the quick wit of Lina and Zel in flying the Queen. Naga made the usual jokes that seemed on the surface to down play the effort, or at least Lina's effort, yet somehow, underneath it all there was a base of gratitude that Lina could see behind the bravado. Oh well, Gracia was different, that was all there was to that, so Lina smiled at the jokes at her expence and made the best of it. Food wise of course, the cooks had done what they could to outdo themselves from lunch. The setting was more formal, although not anywhere near to ballroom manners. Lina was served time and again and no servant looked in anyway put off by the amount she ate. Mind you, she had eaten a big lunch and rested all afternoon with her friends, she didn't eat as much as she might have under other circumstances. In fact, she was tired more than hungry and longed for a bed and not to be woken too early in the morning, for a change. After the meal there was some music and entertainment, songs and poety and even some comic relief acted out, but it was as if the hosts knew how tired the guests would be and after a short while to let the food settle it was announced that the guests would be shown to their rooms. Lina and the girls ended up being shown to their rooms by Gracia herself. Lina again found herself shaking her head. Most Queens had servants for this, but Gracia seemed to be keen on playing the hostess herself. Maybe it was something she learned on the road after she left Seirune. Or maybe she just hadn't had enough of her friends and her sister yet. Oh well...

The layout was that of a long narrow hall that ran off from the main hall. Apparently this was the women's wing and on the opposite side of the building was the men's wing. Well, nothing original there. The basement suites were where the servants slept and the ground story where Lina was being put up was for guests or important people. Lina recognised the room she had stayed at on the first visit, but Gracia led her past it. Lina remembered her tour and realised that at the end of the hall the doors that led out led towards the clusters of buildings used for laundries and kitchens, butteries and store rooms. Things traditionally thought of as women's work. Now the ground plan made more sense. The women slept near to where they worked, out one end of the hall and they prepared the meals, or what ever, out the other end and they were in the Great Hall to serve it. She remembered the men's wing would empy out at the stables, the forges, the armouries, and such like, the places men usually worked, again with access to the Hall as well. Behind were the private quarters of the King and Queen, really just a walled in acre or so, but a place to keep the world out and take the crown off and be human. And next to that had been the sorceresses tower that had intrigued her, and beyond that was the hospital. Of course there were other areas farther away too, like guardrooms and barracks, gardeners' sheds and way in the back the carefully tended garbage pit. Had to have one of those. Well houses were on the property too, water was of vital importance especially if they were ever besieged. It really was a small self contained facility.

Lina was musing on this when they came to a lovely room with a large bed in it made of obviously exotic and quite likely expensive woods. It had a large bed room and a small sitting/all purpose room. A big closet too. This room was given over to Sylphiel who was very polite, but who obviously was squeeling in delight inside. It was a pretty room. It was better than the one Lina had been in first time and that room had seemed very nice too. Well, obviously they were more important now, so the fancy rooms were being opened up, he, he.

After Sylphiel was settled in the other two were taken a little farther up. Amilia was next and was given a bright room full of white filmy curtains and silver coloured metal. A bit gaudy maybe, but it suited her somehow. "A room fit for a Princess!" she thought. She also had a multi room apartment and joked about having to do her own room over in Seirune after this. "Was this room meant for an important lady?" she asked? "Oh yes, a very important lady indeed!" replied Gracia with a pleasant tone in her voice, and a straight face. But Lina noted something odd in her eyes. A mystery! Well, they'd find out soon enough!

When Amilia was settled it was Lina's turn. Gracia took her to the final room and just befoe she opened the door gave Lina a wink and said in a conspiritorial tone "Some times friendship is thicker than blood!" With that she opened the door to what was the most oppulent, bt Westhold standards, room in the whole building. It was hugh! It had the same large bedroom with a large comfortable brass four poster bed. The design was simple enough but that was done to show off the curtains and the wall hangings to advantage. The room was very feminine in its layout but spoke quietly of luxury and comfort beyong compare. Lina gave an avaricious giggle and headed in. She noticed this room had a separate kitchen and sitting area, two big closets, and wonder of wonders! In the back was a hugh hot tub. It was yellow and shiny and Lina noted the brass had been shone till it appeared golden. "WOW,wow,wow,wow,wow!" was all she could say. Gracia explained that they could heat the tub and it would work something like a hot spring. "Oh Naga!" said Lina, little stars going around in her eyes. "We haven't tubbed together for so long!" You know, you are right!" said Gracia. "Let's grab the other two and get to it!" enthused Lina. "Well, it'll take time to fill and heat things" said Gracia with a laugh at Lina's enthusiasm. "Let's make a date! How about tommorrow night!" "Perfect!" said Lina.

The small redhead proceeded to dance through the rest of the rooms. There was a big looking glass for brushing out the hair and Lina suddenly realised how disheveled and sleepy she looked. Unable to help it she yawned and said "Nuts! I really am tired, you're right Gracia. Thank you for this treat, I shall sleep well tonight!" "I'm glad!" said Gracia in return. "Oh and don't be disturbed by the servants. They will be stocking the washing room with fresh linen in the morning and waiting for you to wake up so they can bring the hot water and breakfast and anything else you might desire." Okay, I won't!" said Lina. Gracia then said goodnight and Lina sighed happily as she prepared to settle.

Someone had set out a simple night gown in approximatly her size. It had the same simple decorations that Lina had noted and admired on Queen Grace's dress when they were walking to Seirune. It was very pretty, and very feminine. Lina realised that this was a part of life she had rather been missing up till now, the dainty and feminine side of things that she as a girl was entitled to enjoy. Not that she had ever felt masculine or anything, but her ordinary "business clothes" had a certain no nonsense get down to business style to them that didn't come across in the same way as a light filmy feminine gown did. Lina wondered at the material. She didn't think she had ever seen it before. It was soft and shimmering, yet obviously strong. The threads were spun so fine it was hard to think human hands could do it. It was beautiful.

Lina heard a clink in the other room and froze for a second. When nothing happened she went into the bath room where the noise had come from and confronted a startled maid who had simply been bringing in some wash water and supplies. Lina chuckled, and when the girl had left, Lina cleaned herself and brushed her hair, wearing the gown and feeling papmered. It had been a very long time since life had let her feel so good. "Now if only jellyfish for brains will come back into the picture everything would be perfect." Lina thought. "Oh, and the million man army would just turn around and march away." She shook her head sadly and thought to herself how unfair life could be. There was so much beauty and luxury in the world, enough for all to share, and here she was on the verge of a war started by those who wanted more. She shook her head sadly then forced herself to banish all unhappy thoughts. Tonight she was sleeping on a big beautiful bed and was going to have one of her best sleeps ever and nothing was going to prevent that. And with that, she hopped into bed, puffed out the candle, and did precisely that. 


	14. nChapter13

Chapter 13 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke feeling refreshed. The bed was comfey and no one had awakened her before she was ready to get up. It felt sooo good. She stood up and stretched. Outside she could see the courtyard looking all fresh from the rain the evening before. But the sky was blue and had fluffy white clouds which bode well for the day being nice and dry. "Well, Lina, what adventures await today?" she said to herself. "I know!" she laughed. "Breakfast!" She pulled the cord on the wall, and sure enough, withing a minute a young serving lady, named Trina, appeared in answer to her summons. Lina soon had hot water for a morning wash, and lo and behold, yet again her clothes had been cleaned by unseen hands.

Lina looked at them as she prepared to dress and happened to sigh "I wish I had pretty clothes like the Queen, it would be nice to dress like a girl once in awhile." She had been thinking in part of her Mirror twin from yesterday. Time and experience had modified the twin's personality but at heart she was still a humanitarian and feminine girl, and Lina began to think that there were times when being more of a girl might not hurt. The serving lady had happened to be in the other room cleaning up as Lina sighed her whistful desire and spoke up. "Lady Lina, there are lots of spare clothes in the closets downstairs. I'm sure I could find something in your size. What did you have in mind?"

Lina perked up and said "Um, err, thank you! I must say I admired that white gown Her Royal Highness had taken to Seirune. It was rather shimmery and pretty with a simple pattern that flattered her figure amazingly well. And it has such simple designs worked into it by needle point." "That's pretty standard for a fancy dress Lady." returned the servant girl. She came in to Lina's room and said to Lina, "Here's a plan if you will, after breakfast come down stairs and we can rumage and see what we can find!" said the girl enthusiastically. "Sure!" said Lina. "Is breakfast in the hall this morning?" she asked. "Well, uh, no, for you it is here Miss Lina." the girl replied. "You slept in and we had strict orders to leave you undisturbed. The food cart is in the back hall. But see, this table folds out here and becomes a private dining table!"

Lina asked what time it was and jumped when she found out it was closer to lunch than breakfast. "Wow! I was tired but I didn't realise I was that tired!" she said. With the girl's help she washed and dressed quickly, then sat down to eat. She found it a bit uncomfortable that she had a maid waiting on her like she was royalty or something, so to get around that she plied the girl with questions, and got plenty of answers. One of them was "So, um, is this the most elaborate guest room in the keep then?" "Actually, it is the Queen's room" was the reply, "but our current Queen doesn't use it, she sleeps in the same bed as the King. Like his mother did before him, and I believe his grandmother started it. I don't think this room has been used for a long time, at least it has been longer than I have been alive, and I'm almost eighteen!" "Oh, well, it is very elaborate! I like the brass bed, and that nice brass tub in the other room shines almost like old gold does." "Yes they are pretty." agreed Trina.

"Um, down the hall there was another room done up in what apeared to be silver plate, what room is that?" asked Lina. Trina coloured a bit before answering. "Um, that was the bedchamber of the Royal Mistress, in days of yore." Lina almost fell over in shock. "Royal Mistress! Royal Mistress? HOO boy, I wonder if Amilia knows." she said with a laugh. "Um, I can ask if you wish, Miss Lina." the girl replied. "No it's okay, I'll ask Her Majesty when I see her later." chuckled Lina as she mentally congratulated herself for not tripping over the phrase "Her Majesty." After all, Naga? Her Majesty? Ah, life was so perverse sometimes.

She finished her food quickly and was half way through only the second cart when she realised she wasn't hungry any more. The trip up hadn't been too stressful once they left Zefielia, and there had been an abundance of meals since she had flown the Queen to Seirune. She was up to speed and in top form. Ah, life was good sometimes, too. She stood up and stretched and called Trina who was making the bed. "Soon as your done, let's have some fun dress hunting!" The girl smiled a big yes and in short order the bed was made and the two girls were packing the old linen downstairs to the laundry, for, even though the maid had insisted she could manage it herself, Lina decided to help anyway, if only for something to do. Soon they were busy deep in the closets of old and Lina was loving it!

However, not everyone was as happy that morning. In a sunny garden a young Princess of the House of Seirune was trying not to weep. After all, Zelgadiss hadn't outright rejected her, he had just been a bit brusque in asking to be alone to continue researching the Royal Sorceresses library for a cure. Amilia wasn't sure why she felt so blue about his words today. After all, there had to be a cure, right? Right? Everything was going to work out in the end, that would only be... justice... "Oh shove justice!" she said suddenly to herself. "I want Zel! He seems more withdrawn since, since this war and everything. Oh Gods above! Where is his cure?" Losing the battle, she started to weep, glad no one was there to see. She was a brave girl, but even so, this was emotionally exhausting. And the one person she would have gone to for comfort, her daddy, well, first of all, he wasn't here, and second, in this case he was part of the problem. What was a Princess to do?

While Amilia pondered that, her sister, another Princess of the house of Seirune by birth made her way quietly to the library where Zel was reading. Reading and not finding. And getting frustrated enough to weep himself. "My lord, how goes the search?" she asked quietly. Zel looked up and around then seemed to settle when he realised they were alone. "Poorly Your Highness, poorly." was his response. He was pensive a minute then slammed the book he was reading shut. "I have reached a decission Queen Gracia. I have decided that there is no cure in the west. I have looked everywhere I can think to look, and some places I never thought of as having answers, and it just isn't here! If there is a cure it lies elsewhere. After the war, if I can, I will go to the east and look. I may not come back from such a venture. In fact, since I doubt I'll find anything quickly, I intend not to come back. I will leave your sister as we spoke of earlier. Let me be dead to her and she will find someone else, a real man who can love her, and marry her, and make your Royal father happy with the offspring and their succession to the throne." He was quiet again as if gathering himself, then went on. "I hate myself already for the hurt I will put your sister through. Please help her in her grief, she won't understand. She still talks of marriage, even though it is proven impossible."

Gracia was silent for a minute, her blue eyes inscruitable. "Are you really so sure of this Lord Zelgadiss? Will you not allow some time to be devoted properly to the search after the war? This is hasty is it not? The power to make chimeras would be powerful and dangerous, the power to undo them equally so, I doubt it is lying around in just any old library." "I know it isn't, Lady." replied Zel. "No, I have seen enough here in your library to know your spells are basically the same as I have seen in other places. There is no cure here, and this was my last hope. Please don't argue, I have thought long and hard on this, my mind is made up." Gracia shook her head, clearly upset with Zel's rather abrupt decission. After making a few more efforts to change his mind she realised he was stubbornly dug in and hopelessly committed to his plan. Whatever might happen to change his mind would not come from talk.

She left the library and went to feed her baby. As she rocked little Arthur and suckled him she though about Zelgadiss. She realised he was under a lot of stress, that his soul wasn't made of the same stone his body was, and he was reaching a breaking point. Something had to be done, before the war prefferably, but what? Finally Arthur was done and settled back into his crib, sleeping, well, like a baby. Gracia went out and looked for his father. He was, understandably enough, on the practice field drilling himself and his elite guard for the upcoming war. She called him to her. The King seemed happy enough to give up the practice for the morning, it was getting hot out anyway, and went with his wife to a shady spot. There they talked a long time. It was obvious to the observers he didn't like something the Queen wanted, but that she was making arguments he couldn't nay say. Finally, a servant was sent to find the King's brother. Obviously something of importance was to be decided.

Erik was happily hunkered down in one of the medical gardens reviewing plants and their uses with a very special guest. Almost since her arrival he had rather doted upon Sylphiel, and something like 9 out of 10 blind men could see she was flattered by the attention. This was a stir at the great hall in and of itself, as Erik was well known for being shy with women beyond the general social level. Sylphiel was getting unheard of attention. And so she was this morning too. She had been examining the gardens and reading with Erik how the plants were used for medical purposes. As they went she described variations of some of the plants seen in the West of Westhold, and described their magical uses. Indeed, she had taught Erik some of her simpler healing spells, and he was grateful. So, when he was finally located and summoned he was understandably reluctant to leave, but, the King and Queen had need, and he had his duties. Sylphiel smiled and bid him go, saying they would meet again at lunch which was not that far off anyway.

He did go, and she suddenly found herself lonely. She got up and slowly walked back to the library to return the book, thinking as she went, but not about healing. Erik, in the mean time, made his way to the pavillion where the King and Queen were, and soon was involved in a heated three way converstion with them. In the end he seemed to side more with the Queen than with the King and so a reluctant agreement was made just as the noon bells were ringing to call the Hall to order for the profound business of eating the midday meal. Sylphiel was there with Lina when Gracia walked in.

She stopped and blinked, it took her a minute to realise that the resplendant redhead in the pale beige gown was Lina, obviously successful in her rummage. "Lina Inverse, what on earth? Why you're beautiful!" she said in wonder, then laughed a pleasant laugh. Lina cocked a suspicious eye at Naga, then quickly realised it was Gracia speaking. "Tell me you aren't just discovering that now, Your Majesty!" she said, but with a smile. "Heavens no, but that gown is definitely you Lina." the taller woman replied. "Can I ask why?" "I don't know exactly," replied Lina in all honesty. I just felt a desire to be feminine for a change. Honestly I think it's pre-war jitters, I want to try and experience everything I can before possibly finding myself in a position not to be able to do so ever again." Gracia nodded slowly. Six feet down, pushing up the daisies. She knew exactly what Lina meant. "Then do so, dear Lina. With all my blessing." said the Queen to her friend. They all sat down and lunch was served.

It was obvious though that this meal was not going to be a happy, chattery event. Everyone seemed to have their own thoughts on their minds and soon enough they dispursed to their own ways. Erik did show up like Sylphiel had said, but alas, some business had called him away that afternoon, so he bid a rather reluctant "Till later!" to Sylphiel and departed. Lina ended up with Sylphiel as they walked out of the room. "Sylphiel!" said a happy and full Lina. "You've managed to make yourself scarce since you got here! Are you and Prince Erik making lots of preparations for the upcoming demands on your healing abilities?" Lina asked this in a kind enough voice, but the look in her eye was much more the "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" variety, and it wasn't lost on Sylphiel. She started giggling, then blushing, then giggling some more... "Oh my Miss Lina, now look what you've done! Eh, what can I say? I confess, there seems to be a few sparks flying, but, be fair, it's far too soon to see if they've caught anything. And yes, we have been legitimately busy preparing for the war, I'm sorry to say. They have a much more advanced medical culture than we do, you know? Of course, they've had to, their magic is far less powerfull. They have no one who is anywhere in my league as a white healer, and I'm only stating a fact."

She sighed and looked a little whistful. "And I find him easy to get along with," she went on "but I do hear the wispers about how he is so shy with women, and what spell did I put him under, and it's so unfair that these foreign women with their black tresses come and steal the royalty away from the women of the land. I guess they must look at Queen Gracia and me as some sort of raven haired seductresses. Sigh, despite my impractical determination to help Gourry back when Hellmaster had him I confess that wouldn't know how to be a seductress if my life depended on it, or anyone elses for that matter. I think the women of this land look pretty and exotic with their fair, pale blond hair, I always felt mine was, well, rather plain. I've even wondered how it would look if I had taken on your fiery colour! But, I've never had the courage to try colouring it." She then gave Lina a sidelong look and giggled again. "Would I look good bald, do you think?" she asked.

Lina laughed out loud and said "Sylphiel, you'd look good in anything, don't underestimate yourself, you are quite pretty. And I confess, I too have wondered how I'd come across if I were to darken my hair to your lovely midnight shade. But my courage has failed me there too, he, he. Ahh, it seems to be a woman thing, we are jealous of each other for some reason. Anyway, what ever you and Erik decide about anything is your business, unless it interferes with matters of state, like poor Zel and Amilia." Sylphiel hadn't heard that one, so Lina explained about the possibility of a chimera baby being born, and the possibility of a civil war if it tried to take the throne one day. "How human..." was Sylphiel's sad reply. "We look on the outside and judge, we never look inside to see if such a being would be a good ruler. Oh, after the war, maybe I can work to find a cure." "Yes," responded Lina, "my thoughts exactly Sylphiel, let's talk again after things are settled, maybe we can do something after all. We are both very powerful in our own colours of magic, maybe a joint effort will work wonders?" "Let us hope!" said Sylphiel with an upbeat tone to her voice.

The two girls wandered off and actually had a good chat. The Queen disappeared for the rest of the afternoon and no one seemed to know where she went, but, she did have duties both as Queen and Royal Sorceress, and likely was tied up with those. Besides, she had taken her baby with her, it was just as likely she was cuddling him all she could, before things got bad. Zel spent all his time in the library, and Amilia was with him, helping in the search for the cure. She had cried herself out and now felt better, but he was still strangely silent she noticed. Ah well, the call to arms was only a day away, apparently, that was the day set for the mustering to take place. It was nothing less than the full gathering of all available men at arms in the kingdom, and was going to take place on the great plain to the east of Stronghold. Amilia would be able to watch it from the city. She felt very sad about that, for once the rank and file were mustered the men would march off to war and not be seen again till the battle at the wall at the bottleneck pass was over, one way or the other.

And when the men left, Gracia and Lina would ride away too, on their way to secure the weak spot in the mountain wall against being undermined. Sylphiel would stay in Stronghold and prepare for casualties while Prince Erik would ride out with the field hospitals. Zel was going with the army to the wall, and Amilia was going to have to leave for home. The visit had been too short after too long a separation from her beloved Gracia, and there was nothing to do about it. Well, at least she had been invited to join her sister with Lina in the big hot tub this evening, and there should be as much time as possible there to get to talk once more with her sister, and her friend. She felt a pang of fear as the unwelcome thought that it might be the last time intruded upon her. She felt tears rising again, and forced herself to pay attention to her reading, Zel might find a cure yet, here, now, before things got bad. And so the afternoon passed, and drifted on towards evening.

Shortly before the supper hour a large party of horsemen came riding in from the west. They turned out to be the border guard, and they had come to announce the arrival of forces from Seirune, Zoana, and some of the costal states at the high wall of the narrow pass, who had come to relieve them. So at least there was that much security, the western walls were manned by troops who were neutral if not friendly, and security from that boarder would not be a concern. "Good old daddy!" thought Amilia to herself. Finally they were called to supper, a simple affair and only a little more cheery than lunch, and then it was on to the evening.

Lina had looked forward to this all day. Hot springs were plentiful where she was used to roaming, but here in Westhold, they were rather lacking. Well, more to the point, the existed, but were found up in the mountains and had to be travelled to as an outing. So the fact that the great tub in her room was being fired up was a bit of a treat. She had noticed the servants had been hauling water in from a special cistern in the afternoon. Apparently, the water in it was brought in from a real hot spring and stored, it's virtue not being lost by cooling and reheating. At one point she had seen the young girl Trina working on the tub and had chatted for a minute, asking her about the water and apologising for her having to work so hard. Trina laughed and said that in the first place, the tub hadn't been used in over a generation, so it was a bit of a break from routine to see it in action. She promptly took Lina around to see the heating system, which consisted of an out door furnace which directed its smoke through a somewhat complicated series of baffles allowing it to heat the tub and the floor around it to a hot but not obsessive temperature. Trina then said that there were other more public hot tubs used by the staff and even the royal types living at the great Hall, so this tub's main claim to fame was it's designation as being for the exclusive use of the Queen.

Lina chuckled and expressed relief that the water in the cistern wasn't as old as the last time the tub was used, and that people hadn't been made to haul it in specially. Trina reassured her, with a chuckle of her own, that the water was fresh and could only be gotten fresher if one made a trip to the source, and if Lina thought preparing the tub was work, she should see the preparations for that! Lina laughed and let the girl get back to it. As she walked away she mulled for a minute on whether or not making people like Trina have to be servants wasn't fundamentally unfair and if the girl wouldn't rather be out living her life at her own beck and call, not someone elses. She wondered if Trina got to do the things other young ladies did at her age, and if she had a sweetheart. A slow sad smile crosed Lina's face as she reminded herself of Gourry, and then she decided that Trina had probably come from a noble family herself, a minor one of course, to even be allowed to act as a servant in the Great Hall, and that she had probably been raised in and around this sort of life and was used to it. Well, as long as she was happy, Lina realised she wasn't going to be in a position to do anything about Trina's lot, except be nice to the girl. "And hey!" Lina said to herself with a laugh. "She may be a couple of inches taller, but she's as skinny as me and we small breasted types have to stick together! No jiggling from Trina, that's for sure!" With that, Lina entered into a small garden she hadn't been in before, intending to sit down to relax and await the summons for the evening's soak.

Lina had quickly clued in to the fact that in Stronghold, the ceremonial gardens were meant as quiet spots for relaxation and meditation, of both the contemplative and the trance like variety. There were five main little gardens and each had a different feature designed to be the center of the experience of that garden. For example, the garden she had gone to upon first arriving, with Amilia and Zelgadiss had a couple of gazebos in it and was the show garden where the gardeners did the most work to put on a flowery show all summer long. It was meant to be a spot where people could sit and admire different arrangements at different times of the year, and from different angles. It was also the one where people were most expected to go if you wanted a chat with your friends over tea, so the friends had gotten that right, on that first day.

Then there was the garden with the small raised stage at one end which was used both formally and informally for public performances like poetry readings or maybe musical evenings. It was bigger than the gazebo garden but plainer, the idea here was to let the garden mute into the background and provide a subtle setting for the performance. There was the water garden, a small place designed to let the visitor sit and quietly let the music of the falling water from the fountain trickle into the soul. It even had a small pool with rare water plants in it. The gardeners had found a few plants that would over winter in the pond and a few others that would set seed soon enough to allow the seeds to be stored in the cold season. Lina had found it a pretty spot, even greeting the resident frogs with a chuckle, but had quietly cut her visit short upon seeing an innocent little snail on the back wall. Well, at least it wasn't a slug. She was glad she was learning not to scream her head off the instant she saw them any more, but she still needed to get away as soon as she saw one, or else the inevitable carrying on ensued, to the embarasment of all, slug or snail included. But, snail or not, it had been a pretty garden.

Then there was the gravel garden, where the gardener would rake interesting free hand patterns in a big patch of gravel. Here you were expected to contemplate the visual impact of the garden, and the auditory impact of the silence that was strictly maintained in the garden. Finally, there had been the hedgerow garden, a cute little maze where visitors were meant to have fun threading the pattern to the center and back. This was a favourite with children who loved getting in and around the hedges, and was a place where talking and laughing were certainly expected if not encourage. Now, around the back of the Hall, she found yet another little garden and went in to see what was to be seen.

The first thing that greeted her was a sign telling her this was a sacred spot and that she had to remove her shoes and socks if weather permited. It was warm and sunny in the late afternon, so Lina did just that. In fact, she had chosen sandals to go with her dress, it was easy to go bare foot. It felt nice too. She went in and saw a small irregularly shaped patch of ground surrounded by a wall of irregular field stone, built with no mortar. There were wild flowers in abundance as only a small walkway along one side of the wall was trimmed, this was where the benches were kept, and a small path was also maintained up to a pile of large stones in the middle of the garden.

Lina puzzled over this, then it struck her. It was an altar! Like the wall, it was not made of smooth carved stones, in fact absolutely no tool work could be seen anythere on it. Also, there was no gold, no cloth, no adornments of any sort. Even the usual two upright pillars often called "horns" were missing! "Who's altar is this?" she asked the garden. "The Unknown God's" came the reply. Lina jumped, she hadn't expected an answer. "Yikes!" she cried. Then she noticed, just around the corner a man was sitting, feet bared, hood over his head.

"I, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!" said Lina with a gasp. The man looked up and chuckled. It was the King, apparently he had arrived just ahead of her, taking a walk after supper. After all, his wife had other plans that evening. "Oh, Your Majesty! I didn't mean to disturb you!" she said. "And who says you have Lina Inverse? Who says you have? Would you like to know more? Come, sit down beside me, it's time I got to know this woman my beloved wife thinks so highly of anyway. Hmmm, but I don't think I was supposed to tell you that, so, for the record, I didn't!" said the King with a chuckle. "Eh?" said Lina as she sat next to the King on the bench. "Thinks highly of me? Well, I suppose she does, Your Majesty, although our relationship was always one of trying to out do the other. Yet, given our personalities, that's probably why it works."

The King looked at her with a smile and said "Here, in this garden, and alas, only in this garden, we are all equal before God, and you can call me Alfred, if you please, Lina. Besides, it is nice to lay aside the mantle and the crown and just be a man once in awhile. There will be too little of that in the upcomong days, that's for sure." Lina nodded. "I know, your... Alfred" she said. "So tell me about this god who isn't known?" she asked.

"Well, He is the God who hasn't revealed himself yet." said the King. "Have you noticed how all of nature seems divided into male and female?" Lina nodded. The King went on "Have you ever realised we always refere to the Golden Lord of the Nightmares as "she"?" Lina nodded again. "I knew that but I never put any significance to it, at least not till now..." she said in a thoughtful way. "You need a man and a woman to make a new life." said the King. "This is true for all of nature, from plants to people. Now, if The Golden Lord of the Nightmares is the female, the Mother, then where is the male? The Father?" "I, I have never thought on that!" said Lina with a slight shock. The King pointed at the altar.

"The unknown God." he said. "No one knows about him, only that he will reveal himself when ready, if ever." Alfred went on. "You see before you an altar made of stones never touched with a tool, un-cemented, and which has never had fire or sacrifice on it, except the prayers of people who come to this garden, which is left wild and open to the sky. This little path is the only concession made to humans, we have no guide as to how to worship him. We keep this garden simple, and use it as a place of quiet meditation and prayer. Now you know the secret of this place. I myself was just calming my mind after a hard day's practice at killing my fellow human beings, killing them for the simple reason that that is why they are marching even now towards us, to kill us. It is not fair, but it is life." the King ended with a sigh.

Lina was quiet for a long time. Finally she spoke. "Religion has never been something I have thought about, uh, Alfred, but perhaps after the war I might just give this some thought. It might help me in my quiet quest." The King gave her a puzzled look and Lina elaborated "It's not something I wave about like a flag or anything, but one of my real missions in life is to find myself."

The King nodded for a minute then smiled over to Lina and said "Can I let you in on a secret Lina?" She nodded. "Look down." he said and as she did so he touched her gently on her stomach. "Who is that?" "HUH?" she replied. "Me, of course..." she said, using a puzzled and suspicious tone of voice. "Of course!" said the King. "And you'll always be there for as long as you live! You see, you aren't lost, that's why you can't find yourself. What you need to do is re-define the search. It's not "where am I?" because you are right there! It's not "who am I?" because you are, simply, you. What you are really asking is "What do I want to be?" Or "who" if you prefer. You see, what we really do with our lives is not find ourselves, but rather, we make ourselves. But until we realise that, we don't always understand the process. Even people who go away and come back claiming they found themselves are really people who were able to use the journey as a means of making themselves what they felt they wanted to be, but they may not always have realised that was what they were doing."

Lina gave him a puzzled look. "For example" the King responded, "did you become a great and powerful sorceress because one day you were stumbling around and then "Ping!" you accidentally stepped on a lucky spot and there you were! Instant power! Or did you work, study, hunt, seek, and practice that power till, like a fine craftsman, you perfected it?" "Well, the latter, of course..." said a still puzzled Lina. "And this temper you are famous for, did that happen because a malicious demon has possessed you and you can't help yourself, or is it because you don't bother practicing self control and you make yourself someone famous for over reacting?" "No, no one has forced me, I admit to that." said Lina with a nervous giggle. "But what about things I didn't want, like being estranged from my sister?" she asked.

"Did an evil fairy come and wave her wand? Or how did you get separated?" asked the King. "Err, well, we always seemed to dislike each other, and we always picked on each other, back and forth throughout our lives, then things sort of came to a head when I was 10 and got so bad by age 13 that I left home, at my sister's, let's say, suggestion. Basically I ran away because she made me too fightened to stay." replied Lina. The King nodded. "But what you did at age 10 you did of your own will. The problem was you only thought of the consequences from a ten year old's point of view, and so you decided to make yourself someone who had revenged herself on her sister and you succeeded. But you never asked "Will my sister get so mad at this she will want revenge back?" did you?" asked the King.

Lina shook her head no. "I have done a lot of things without thinking about the results" she admitted. "But, I do realise the phrase "finding myself" is a bit of a catch phrase for making myself, you know." Alfred smiled and said "In that case you are ahead of some others, including some who should know better. However, my meaning here is more one of restating the problem in clearer words. Think about it like this. As long as you say "I must find myself", or "where am I?" sorts of phrases you push the question of "who do I want to be?" to the back of your mind. Think about how much clearer your search would become if you openly asked the question. Then it is right here in front of your face, and you can, and have to, deal with it." Lina pondered for a minute, then said "And I think I get it now too. I can control my actions, or let them be controlled by outside forces. If I am to be the woman I want to be I have to take the responsibility of deciding who she is and acting that way, or else life will carry me along and I will act the way it pushes me!" "Yes, that's it Lina!" said the King happily. "You have the idea! You won't find her, this woman you want to be, you will make her! Just remember this, and I think you will be able to "find", shall we say, the real Lina, no matter where you are, or what life does to you."

Lina thought for a while then said "Thank you, Alfred. I think I can scratch a major quest off my to do list now. Yes, you are right, redefine the question and it puts finding the answer in a clearer light, I make myself. It's the hoary old saying isn't it? "You don't choose the time you were given, but you do choose what you do with it." It's clearer now, somehow. I wish I'd had this talk with someone long ago." The King nodded and said "What's important is that you have had it now, Lina. Oh, word of warning, the quest to make yourself won't be any the less demanding than the one to find yourself." Lina stood up with a giggle, gave a stretch, and said " I begin to see what Naga, er, Gracia, must see in you. But I'm curious, what do you see in her?" she asked, sitting back down.

The King looked at Lina with a twinkle in his eye and said "Have you ever looked deep into those blue, blue, eyes of hers? There is this wondeful, complex, compeling person in there. Oh sure, I appreciate that not everyone will relate to her like I do, her sense of humour is pretty unique, she's got her vanity, and an overwhelming sense of self superiority, at least on the surface. But get underneath, and there is a deep well of personality not always seen. She is a deep thinker, sometimes too deep, and she can get misdirected by her thoughts to the point where she misses the obvious." Lina couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, tell me all about it!" she said. The King smiled back. "Yes, you traveled with her, you do know, don't you? She has a serious side too. If she sets herself to a task she can clamp down like a bull dog and not let go. She is studious, look at her magic, how far it has come in a few short years. She has a tender side too, one almost never seen in public. And way down at the bottom, she still has an inner child if you like, a scared little girl who saw her mother hacked down in front of her. She will have some scars for life I think. What do I see in her? I don't know if I can simply put it in a few words, but, when I see her with our son, how loving and tender she is, well, I don't know, something speaks to my man's heart that I found the right one."

"Yes," said Lina with a nod. "I admired the way she took care of the baby durning the trip, hardly a peep out of him, fed when he wanted, even the diapers were handled without complaint. And then there was the fight. The Naga I knew fainted at the sight of a scratch that was bleeding, but for her baby, she shed blood and killed without a moments hesitation, thought the shock to her afterwards was rather profound. To be honest, I hope I prove as good a mother." Alfred smiled and said "I thank you for being with her, Lina, she would never have handled the mazoku without magic. I am very grateful that you brought her back alive." he added, with the hint of a tear of gratitude in his eye.

He thought for a minute, then went on "So, what else do I see in Gracia... Well, there's her laugh. I suppose most people find it irritating, but I was always able to hear notes in it that others seem to have missed. Yes, it speaks of her vanity, of her self styled superiority, or what she calls her "worldly superiority", and her sense of being the best, and that is all most people hear. But, if you listen carefully, there are overtones that tell a different story. They tell about her fear, her loneliness, and, hidden even from herself I think, there is a feeling of, and a fear of, being inferior." The King sighed. "But maybe I better not go there, they are my observations of a private side of my beloved, and I don't know if she wants it revealed, even to you."

Lina looked a little stunned. "Inferior..." she finally said. "Well, now that makes some things fall into perspective. I never could figure out why she kept hanging around me when we always got into fights. Now I think I see. By constantly challenging me she was trying to prove, on an unconcious level, to herself perhaps, that she was a good sorceress! I never saw it that way. But it makes sense! And I should have know, I have some of that too, thanks to my own past." "Well, but who says that you were ready to see it when you were younger? After all, you have your own life to live too." replied the King in a kindly way. Lina nodded. "So how did you become such a philosopher King, Alfred?" she asked.

The King thought for a minute then said "Hmmm, well I guess it has to do with my time as a young man. Knowing I was going to become King one day and that I'd have to lead the people, not just the army, I went and joined an organisation of religious warrior monks that live up in some hills far north of here. They practice all things they think are needful for a warrior to know. Martial arts, of course. Empty handed fighting, weapons of all sorts, horsemanship, strategy and tactics. Even some of the more esoteric aspects of war, like how to command, espionage, administration, oh boy is there a lot of that! But that's important, if you can run an army, you can run a nation, and running an army is work! And they cultivate the spirit as well as the body and mind. There are meditative practices, philosophy, self discipline and control, and for those of us who do well, even advanced techniques of mind control. Not magic, but ways of drawing upon inner strength when you need it. For example, there is the "spirit shout", where you seek to project not just noise when you yell, but a burst of spiritual force designed to confound the enemy. It works, with a lot of practice. For me it was exciting. And they do challenge you to think about things, such as life. so I guess that's the answer to your question.

Of course, such a life had a few other twists too, for example, being that these were monks it naturally precluded having much contact with women, and especially intimate contact, so, the fact was, when Gracia found me I was running the country fairly well but was as untouched as she was, at an age when most kings probably were working on their sixth or seventh mistress, or were expanding their harems by as much. I think she appreciates the fact I have only ever known her that way. It was all I had to offer when she surprised me on our wedding night with her ring, and the fact she was a real princess. I never would have guessed that part."

"Oh you weren't the only one surprised by that revelation, trust me" said Lina. "That veiled thing she did all trip long fooled me, that and the fact she never talked much above a whisper, until, after finally getting Arthur into Prince Phil's lap, she suddenly whipped her veil off and revealed herself. I can only hope the fit I had made her happy, she sure got me that time I admit." she added with a shake of her head. "But, why was I startled?" she went on with a laugh. "She always did like her grand entrances! But I spent about two years running around with her, and sometimes we were pretty intimate, due to circumstances. You know, huddled around a fire, no one else to talk to, sharing a blanket on occasion due to cold. Or relaxing in a hot spring, soaking our cares away, and not always with a bathing suit handy either. In some ways we have few secrets between us, but that one she managed to keep real close. Well, now that it's out it makes sense. And I understand a bit better what makes her tick.

Well, well, she has made peace with her past I think and is making peace with all those she hurt because of it. I'm happy for her, heck, it was hard for me to admit for a long time, because she was so much her own person, but deep down inside, I love her as a friend. I love her sister Amilia too, and I feel close to her, but perhaps surprisingly, it is Naga I feel closer to, probably because we have so much in common." The King chuckled. "Yes it sounds like you know her well Lina. And I am glad she has such a friend as you. Especially in her wandering years, you were just what she needed. Oh well, look at the sun, it is getting late, and I must get going. I have an appointment with my son tonight!" He smiled knowingly at Lina and added "And I believe you have an appointment with a hot tub that hasn't been used since my grandmother's day, and that only when she was older and prefered to soak alone to sooth her infirmities. I thank you for this talk Lina, I hope we both understand each other a bit better, and that it will only be the first of many, not the only one we ever have. But for now, I bid you goodnight, and pleasant dreams after a pleasant evening!" With that the King made his way out of the garden, and Lina did as well, heading for her chambers and a hot tub party! 


	15. oChapter14

Chapter 14 xxxxxxxxxx

Walking into the hall Lina was quickly at her room. Entering it, she could feel the heat and the steam coming off the hot water. Trina quickly showed up to help her take the fancy dress off and Lina was soon down to the bare essentials, namely a big fluffy towel that wrapped around her, and a pair of slippers. Yup, they had bunnies on them! Then she wandered into the back room and took in the sight. There was the big brass tub, now full of water. Lina could feel the pleasant heat through the floor, slippers or no. Some of the other servants were finishing things like arranging candles and flowers and decorative touches in general that made for a soothing effect. There was even a small fountain Lina had not noticed before. It was set in the wall and tinkled merrily in the back groud. Obviously it was connected to some source and earlier on it had been turned off somehow, but it was a nice touch. Lina took it in, it was, well, for a hot tub, perfect! She slipped her slippers off and enjoyed the warmth on her feet. The servants left, Trina said the Queen was bringing some treats of her own and was there anything Lina needed? Lina said no and thanked the girl who giggled, obviously being thanked was a bit of a novelty.

Finally Lina was alone. She dropped her towel and after a minute or two of streching and taking in the whole effect alone, she stepped into the tub. "Hot!" was her first rection, but, by advancing slowly she made it in, and when she was used to it she was able to relax and settle in. She had a few minutes alone with her thoughts which were rather scattered at first, but which soon settled down to a relaxed sensation of peace in the soothing warmth. "Now if only I had Gourry here to finish up our business with." she thought to herself, and was surprised she didn't feel a stab of guilt for once. She smiled.

"Lina, you've come a long way you know" she went on in her thoughts. "One day you really must try settling down for a spell, just to see what it is like." She laughed at that. "So Lina, what the King said was true, was it not? You have to make yourself, you won't find yourself under a rock somewhere. Hmmmm, so, who do I want to be? He, he, the world's most powerful sorceress, so strong even Naga gives it up! Yeah, but don't end up like Rezo!" she added "there was a total JERK! with a capital everything!" She relaxed a bit more sinking deeper into the tub.

"Speaking of Rezo, what are we going to do with Zel? He's moody, never a good sign. I think this war has him spooked, well, who isn't, but I think he's thinking things again, like about his cure and that. Apparently he keeps himself locked into the library all the time just reading old texts. And Amilia is with him. I hope that is good, but he can be so short with her when he is feeling like the world is against him. She doesn't deserve that. And they looked so happy together earlier too. Stupid laws..." She thought for a minute then corrected herself. "No, stupid situation where people fear that which is different so much that they need stupid laws. Well, I suppose Phil is right, if the baby was a chimera there would be a lot of trouble with some people. Still, I don't know if all the people would be so unaccepting." She sighed and thought back over her adventures, and had to admit that people probably would be that unaccepting...

There was a sudden thump and the door to Lina's room flew open as a screaming Amilia was dragged in by a hysterically laughing Naga. "Oh Lina! There you are!" exulted the Queen. "I've got something to show you! Look!" As she spoke she thrust Amilia forward. Lina could see she was wrapped in some sort of a black cape. "No!" she yelled. "I won't, I can't do it. You can't make me, it isn't meeee" Lina was shocked, not knowing what was going on. "Oh stop being a big baby." said Naga sternly. "And anyway you promised!" "Yeah but I changed my mind! I'm embarassed!" wailed Amilia, really pathetically. "And it's not even my colour!" she added. "Wha-what are you two doing?" asked a dubfounded Lina. "Oh just playing dress up..." said Naga mysteriously. "Dress up?" replied Lina, then, with a major suspicion growing in her mind she said even more sternly "Amilia! Have you been letting Naga dress you? Serves you right! Show me, and get it over with, I want to hot tub in peace!"

Amilia wimpered, and then reluctantly opened the cape, while howling "This isn't fair!" Lina's jaw dropped to the bottom of the pool as her pupils seemed to constrict to pinpoints. "Amilia..." she finally said. "I'm sorry Lina, I just wanted to see how it looked, I never meant for her to make me show you..." Amilia stood there, dressed in her sister's outfit. Yes..., that outfit..., and it looked bloody ridiculous. Well, it looked that way when Naga wore it too, but some how it looked stylishly ridiculous on her, on Amilia it was rather clownish ridiculous... Amilia was wearing everything but the oversized sword, well, they had found some different black boots that actually fit. Lina noticed that even the skull and the tiara were there.

"There!" said Naga. "I don't need it any more, but since it was mother's I don't want to throw it out. So I think it looks fine on her, I want to send it home with my sister!" Amilia whined "Please, no, it's yours now. I don't want it!" Lina dug her fists into her eyeballs and said "Amilia, just take it off, and both of you, get into the tub! Then, unable to help herself any more, she started to laugh. Amilia whined and pouted, but took the bikini off, and, finally nude, prepared to enter the tub. Lina realised that Amilia had grown up since Lina had last been in a hot spring with the Princess. She was still big in all the places Lina wasn't, and she still showed a rounder body type than Lina, or her sister, but she had gone from cute, through pretty, and was now beautiful. Well, if Zel wasn't happy with her, then the woman didn't exist that would make him happy...

Lina slid back into the tub, feeling a little self concious, anticipating Naga's disrobing. She had seen her naked before, of course, hell that silly costume she wore was the next best thing to total nudity anyway, and they had gone to hot springs and hot tubs as well, and Naga was, well, beautiful too, but Lina really didn't like the way she always flashed it in people's faces as a challenge. Amilia stepped into the pool. "OOOHHH! Hot! Beautiful!" she said as she slowly slipped into the water. Naga was about to enter in after her sister, when she stopped. She looked puzzled. Amilia clued in and followed her sisters gaze, to a flabbergasted looking Lina who was staring at Naga. Suddenly the light went on in Naga's eyes and she smiled. Not a Naga like smirk but a woman to young woman smile of understanding. She looked down at her body and back to Lina and said in a quieter, gentler voice. "Not quite as you saw it last is it Lina? They're called stretch marks, and they are what can happen when you have a baby. And the belly sag is from little Arthur filling me up too. It will go away after a time, or so I'm told, but I will probably never quite have my Naga the White Serpent body back. And did you notice these?" she asked, giving her breasts a famous Naga jiggle. They still stood out, big and firm and ripe, but, something was different... "It's the milk" explained Naga. "It makes them heavier and they sag a bit too. And the colour around my nipples is darker too, much darker. Take a good look girls, if you bring your own marriage plans home to roost this may be in your future too. But don't get me wrong, if this is the only sacrifice I have to make for the joy of being a mother, I am glad to make it. But I'll never have my virgin body back." With that she laughed and slipped into the tub.

Amilia giggled to Lina "Sorry for the dramatic entrance, I don't know what came over us, it was sort of like making up for stuff we never had a chance to do when we were younger." "Yeah, the screaming, the hair pulling, the tattling, the temper tantrums..." added a now smirking Naga. "Sounds wonderful..." said Lina quietly. The sisters looked at her then at each other. "I'm sorry Lina." said Amilia. "We forgot you don't get on with your sister like we do." Lina smiled back, a bit sadly. "Well, I didn't quite mean it that way, but no, I'm sorry, please. You have not seen each other in far too long, and you have every right to be happy with each other. Hey, you even adopted me, even if only as a joke, and I think you are wonderful sisters, so go ahead and play. Don't worry, I will make good with Luna, as soon as this war thingy is out of the way."

Amilia floated over and threw a big hug around Lina. "Wha...?" said a surprised Lina. She then settled into the hug, and in reality, it felt kind of nice. Amilia let go and Naga said "Tonight is a night for open feelings. Say or do what you feel is right, just be honest about it. Ask anything you want, you might get answers. Only wait until the ladies have arrived with the treats." she added, hearing a soft click as the door was opened again and some serving women brought in a cart laden with goodies. Some were old favourites of all three of the girls, and some were obviously new delicassies from Westhold, or maybe even from the east itself. In the middle was a steaming vessel filled with some sort of a drink, which smelled divine! The servants quickly set out three small trays near the bathers and set the cart beside the Queen. With a silent bow they departed. As they left Queen Gracia asked "Cymbelene, did you tell the cook to make a pot for the staff as well?" "Yes Madam! And thank you very much!" the head servant replied. "You are welcome, dear lady." replied Gracia. "Now, I think unless we ring, we won't need to be disturbed again." "Yes Madam!" the servant replied, as she left and closed the door behind herself.

"Ahhh, alone at last!" said a happy Naga. "Speaking of alone," said Lina, "I had asked Sylphiel to join us tonight, but I don't see her." "Oh," explained Naga who was filling the cups of each of them with the delicious smelling dark brown brew that was in the steaming vessel "Prince Erik returned with some rare magical healing herbs, and she has made herself busy with helping prepare them against their being needed. I think she forgot. I also think she had help doing that, he, he, he... though not by me." "Yes, she mentioned that there had been a few "sparks" between the two of them when I talked to her earlier." laughed Lina in reply. "Oh? Well, miracles DO happen!" responded Naga.

She went on to explain "Prince Erik puts on a good show in public, but around women he's almost painfully shy. If something has sparked between them I hope it flares into life! He's far too sweet a man to go through life without a special someone, and I think he'd be an excellent daddy too. If sis here wasn't so taken with her living statue I'd try to set her up with Erik. OHOhohoho!" she ended with a laugh. "You'd what! With who? Gracia!" sputtered a surprised Amilia. "Now now, you'll spill your drink." said her sister. "Yes." said Lina. "Can we drink it now? It smells so good, seductive actually." "Yes, yes, let's drink!" said Naga holding her cup up. "Wine and wineglasses be damned, here's a toast to old friends reunited, may we never be parted again!" "CHEERS!" they all said to that, and proceeded to drink.

Naga, knowing what was coming, sipped her drink and watched in amusement as the other two first sipped, then found they couldn't stop and ended up draining their cups. They looked at each other wide eyed. "What is this stuff?" said a thoroughly amazed Lina. "Pardon me, but now I know what the silly old saying "There's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited." means!" exclaimed Amilia. "Nice isn't it?" said Naga with a smirk. She reached for the vessel and started to refill the cups again. "It's more fun if taken slowly, so sip, don't guzzle, okay?" The others nodded. "We'll try" said Amilia with a giggle. "It comes from far to the east and is extremely expensive." explained Naga. "They probably wouldn't trade it at all, but they don't have tea or coffee like we do and so they want what we have, and they trade us for this. It's called, as near as we can come to it in our language, chocolate! The form we are drinking is called cocoa, but it also can come in other forms, some of which are mixed on or in the delicassies on the tray." she went on.

"Chocolate..." said Lina as Amilia stared at her cup dreamily. "This stuff could be addictive." "No, it's too expensive." said Naga. "It is one of the rare few treats we have here at the castle that we don't share with the populace at large. For every ton we import, the payment is a half a ton of tea, a half a ton of coffee, and a hundred pounds of rubies. And that is a lot of rubies! Plus some gold to pay the caravans that shipped it. Expensive stuff. Still, we manage to hold consumption to about a ton a year, don't forget we have to share this with the knights and lords who help run the kingdom. And share it with the staff too, it's too good to be cruel and not let them have a taste when we are drinking some." "Aww, that's great!" said Amilia happily thinking of how just her sister was.

"Speaking of expensive," said Lina, "your kingdom seems quite rich. That must make you happy!" she concluded, remembering Naga had more than a touch of avarice. "Yes, we have a couple of large gold mines and numerous silver mines too." said Naga. "We also have some ruby and saphire mines and more rarely, emeralds, topaz, and opals, including a few very rare purple ones. They are so rare they haven't been valued actually. Plus, we are very well off agriculturally, we have a good climate, lots of water, well, we covered some of this on our little hike if I remember." "Yes, we did." replied Lina.

"Well, that explains the silver plate on my bed!" giggled Amilia. "What do you mean, plate?" asked Naga seriously. "Errrr, well, the bed and the four posts, you know, like Lina's, only it's silver..." said a slightly confused Amilia. "Yes, yes it is" said Naga. "You mean to say you thought it was plated? My dear silly, it is absolutely solid stering silver!" "YEEK!" shrieked Amilia in amazement. "Solid Sterling Silver!" "That's what I said." replied Naga. "So, who slept there!" asked Amilia. Naga gave a chuckle. "In olden times it was built for the Royal Mistress! OHOhohohohohoho! But when I married, my King and Husband told me I was all the Queen and Mistress he'd ever need and promptly handed over the keys! OHOhohohoho!" That's rich, sister dear!" Amilia laughed at the joke like laughter had just been invented.

"Well, but who's room is this then? I was told it was the queen's?" asked Lina, confused by what she just heard, and a bit in shock from the staggering amount of silver that was in the bed. "This is the Queen's chamber." replied Naga. "But then why did she only get brass?" asked a flabbergasted Lina. Now it was Naga's turn to be flabbergasted in return. She gave her head a good hard shake and started to laugh. "OHOhohohoho! OHOhohohoho! Brass? Lina my dear old friend, do you really mean to tell me you have been so long out of the circuit that you failed to recognise old, patina covered GOLD! OHOhohohohohohoho! OHOhohohohohohoho ! That is the funniest thing I've EVER heard you say! OHOhohohohohoho! OHOhohohohohoho! OHOhohohohohohohohohohoho!" Naga was just about doubled over from her laughter. "G-GG-GGG-GOLD! GOLD?" shrieked an amazed Lina. She looked around and said "No! It looks like, wait, I never thought... could it be? Okay, gold is softer than silver, so okay, I guess I can see that if it is gold plated..." "NO WAY!" shouted Naga triumphantly. "This tub is over a foot thick so it would support its own weight when it was set into the specially designed recess in the floor!" "But, but it's, it's..." "Eight feet by eight feet by four feet, and that's just the cavity we are soaking in!" responded Naga, still triumphant. "And your bed too, thick gold to hold up its own weight. And all solid twenty four carat GOLD! Lina! In these rooms alone is enough wealth to buy the town of Zephielia!"

Lina just shrieked in amazement as Naga laughed. But who could blame Lina, that much gold was hardly ever to be found in one place, even in a bandit hoard. And gold was soft, so it had to be thick to hold its own weight. Brass had seemed a logical alternative. Finally Amilia yelled at them "SHUTUPPLEASE!" and they managed to stiffle themselves. "By the gods Naga! You always wanted a mountain of gold! You have succeeded!" said Lina finally. "I'm literally rich beyond the dreams of avarice, Lina Inverse." said Naga quietly, as she poured more cocoa for her friend and her sister. "So, what's the King's bed then?" asked Lina. "Carved from a solid ruby?" "No, it's a simple affair, wooden, with far less wood, and far poorer in quality than the nice bed Miss Sylphiel enjoys." replied Naga. She smiled an open smile, lost in thought for a minute then said "In truth, the bed is made of something far more precious to me than all the gold, silver, rubies, or fine woods ever could be any more. It is made out of love."

Lina and Amilia looked at each other and sighed deeply. Naga went on "Let me give you some history of the bed. In days of old the kings used it only on nights they didn't wish to sleep with their wives or mistresses. It was kept simple, apparently to discourage use, so the king would make lots of babies. However, starting with Alfred's great-grandfather, a change came over the monarchy. I guess his great-great-grandfather took debauchery to the maximum and his great-grandfather was so disgusted by it he became a quiet reformer. Only took a wife, no mistress, the first of an unbroken line to do so. And although he and his queen slept apart at times there was a quiet love between them that was something new in the Great Hall here. And they raised their son, the grandfather of Alfred, and the great reformer king, Aethelred by name, to respect and enjoy what they had. This room was unused until he died and his queen moved in here to allow the new King, Athalstan, Alfred's father, to have the use of the King's bed with his queen. She never slept apart from him, except maybe once or twice when one or the other was sick and the doctors had him or her to the infirmary for observation. She never used this room. Well, but her husband was alive when her mother-in-law died, and she died in the same accident that made Alfred King..." she ended, looking sad.

"May we know what happened?" Amilia asked quietly, after a pause. Naga continued "Well, they used to like to go to the mountains, to do a sport called skiing." "Oh, that's the one where they go downhill on snow wearing those long boards on their feet." said Amilia. "Yes" replied Naga. "Well, one spring, about eight years ago now, they decided to go on one last ski before spring set in. Erik was a student at medical school and couldn't go, and Alfred was busy with his mad monks at the time." "Oh the warrior priests?" asked Lina. "Warrior monks." replied Naga. "How did you hear of them?" she added out of curiosity.

Lina briefly explained about the meeting in the garden of the Unknown God. Naga smiled. "He has more than a touch of wisdom! Alas, his poor father forgot his though.He was warned against going skiing by the locals and the wardens who knew the area, but he insisted there was no danger. Apparently they had a lovely day of it, and the King, his wife, and their daughter, Alfred's only sister, were skiing down the hill, racing each other for the last run of the day, when an avalanche broke loose and swept them away. They didn't find the last body till the summer. Because skiing was such a favourite sport of his father's Alfred had them buried up on the mountain. He never went there again, except once, on our honeymoon, when he showed me their graves, then, with tears in his eyes, he introduced me to the ghosts of his family. It was the only time in that whole trip I cried, it was so sad."

"And it made up my mind for me that I had to get back in touch with you and daddy, Amilia. Of course I couldn't get away instantly, and when I was ready to try, the first time, I was pregnant, and couldn't go. Then I gave birth and was recovering, about two weeks after that, we heard the first rumours of war, and then they were confirmed, and then, in the middle of our panic, who rides in but your very own Lord Zelgadiss wanting to speak peace on behalf of Seirune and the west. I recognised the door being opened! So I convinced the King I was the only ambassador who could convince daddy in a hurry that we were peaceful. Then the shadow warriors appeared, and we knew I would never get to ride to Seirune in state, not safely, even with a large army. So we came up with a hastily conceived hairbrained scheme to have me walk to Seirune, with Arthur, because I would not leave him, and me, just out of my child bed too. The King said he'd only allow it if fate sent a sure sign. And Lord Zelgadiss rode back with that sign." Here Naga turned to Lina. "The only sign even I could accept. Lina Inverse."

"And yet I suddenly felt shy and afraid, and I veiled myself, and kept it on until the throne room at Seirune, and, here we are. Thank you both, for coming, it means more than I can say...' she stopped, a tear in her eye, unable to go on. "Oh Gracia..." said a tearful Amilia in her turn. But Lina had spent more time with Naga the White Serpent than Amilia had, having know the woman before her as her sister Gracia for most of her life. She knew Naga only for the short time before she left home under a cloud, and it had been Lina who had gotten to read her friend as she was now. She moved across the tub and threw her arms around Naga, and said softly "You poor thing, you are as scared as the rest of us, aren't you?" Naga wept on Lina's shoulder. Finally she blubbered "I, I didn't mean to be scared for our party, I...I'm sorry..." "Don't be" whispered Lina. "It's, I'm, Oh GODS Lina! What if we lose? Arthur and Alfred! I couldn't live without them! And the Kingdom! We didn't cause this! All those men and women and families that will have to suffer and lose if we are to stay safe, and how can we? And I can't even so much as cast a simple lighting spell to help!" She went off in a fresh stream of tears. Amilia also snuggled over and hugged her sister. When things calmed a bit she whispered in her turn "If needs be, I will take my nephew. He shall be my first born son..." she said simply. Naga turned and hugged her, still with tears in her eyes. "We shall see..." she said finally. Lina said in her turn "They aren't getting to you unless they go through me first, Naga. And I don't let people go through me very easily, as you know..." Naga gave her a teary smile. After a few minutes things settled down again. A few treats were handed around, and, chocolate being chocolate, spirits revived. "Thank you Lina" said Naga softly. Lina replied, more brightly "Ah, don't worry about it Naga, worry is just a mind killer. It isn't over till it's over, and even if we only have one chance for victory, there is no reason to think it won't come to pass."

Naga spoke, again softly, "Listen Lina, I've wanted to say this for a long time. It's about the night we broke up. I'm sorry. I really have missed you. I never meant..." "No, don't be sorry, you don't really understand." said Lina, interupting with her reply. Amilia looked puzzled, but it was obviously private and so she asked "Should I leave you two alone?" Lina's eyes opened up and she chuckled "For the Golden Lord's sake no! Listen, here's what happened. We had been together for almost two years by then. We were high up a mountain, it had been cold and stormy and we were snuggled together. Even with our magic we couldn't get a fire going in the damp, so we snuggled together under our capes, sharing the body heat. We talked about friends, family, love, the future, we had a rather intimate time of it all. Then the wind came around to the south, all warm and fresh, and blew the clouds away, and there was a big, full, romantic moon right in front of us. We looked at each other, and we were both so lonely and had talked ourselves into wanting human contact so much, well, we kissed, Amilia, a big long romantic, don't break it till you have to come up for air, kiss. It was a spontaneous thing, then we giggled, and blushed and felt shy. I don't think either of us had ever kissed another human being like that before, of either gender. Anyway, we warmed up and settled down to sleep, apart, let me say. And for your sister, as far as she knew, when she woke up I was gone."

"Yes," said Naga, "And I blamed myself for making you think I was trying to seduce you, and I cursed myself and cried for you, but I was too ashamed to come after you anymore. So I drifted around. I heard of your adventures of course, how you were traveling with the swordsman who bore the Sword of Light, and how you destroyed Shabradnigdo. Then we met again and pretended nothing had changed, and we defeated Shabradnigdo together to help that elf child Lark. Then Hellmaster, and the barrier lifted. And then I went away, I couldn't bring myself to ask how you were, I couldn't ask, couldn't talk, about that kiss. I kept kicking myself. Finally you went away to the west it was said, to the outer realm. So I went also, but to the east, to go as far away from the place of my failures, as a daughter, as a sorceress, as a sister, as a princess, as a friend, as a rival, yes, as a human. And as I went, I found that, no matter how I kicked myself, I couldn't still the accusing voice inside me, the one that kept saying I was a failure, that I lost everyone I ever cared about, you Lina, you and daddy, Amilia, and yes, even mommy too, all due to my failing, regardless of the truth. If you say I was only screwed up, I'll thank you for being that nice. Brandy became my only friend, it shut things up, for awhile. Still I needed money for that, so one day I wandered into Westhold, and heard they were looking for a Royal Sorcerer. So I ended up here. Perhaps it was for the best after all. But now you say there is more to the story, Lina?"

Lina nodded slowly. "I had an, um, incident in my past, having to do with, um, a kiss, and my sister... Please forgive me but I can't talk about it, not right now. Just know something happened, and I relived the nightmare after we had fallen asleep. I woke up in a panic, and ran off. Finally I cried it out of my system, and then, I couldn't face you again, at least not right away. I thought you'd find me in a few days, you always did in the past, and I could explain then, but you never came. I wondered what had happened, I even looked awhile, but you had vanished. Then I met Gourry and my life started to change along different lines. Finally, as you said, we met again, but by then I wasn't alone with you, not to where we could talk anyway, and you seemed the same as always, so I never could, um, clear up things either. I am the one who is sorry Naga. I know you kissed me out of loneliness and wanting some tender human contact, that was why I kissed you too. I just never expected the dream after." Lina slumped, looking miserable.

Amilia was sitting there, her jaw just about dropping into the water. "Wow! You two aren't kidding that you have history!" she said, amazed. "So Gracia, please, go on! Tell us, how did you become Queen?" Naga slid over and hugged Lina and said "So it was all just a misunderstanding... Cheer up Lina! I forgive you, and I still ask you to forgive me, and let's put it behind us." Lina smiled saddly and said "It involved Luna again, so there, now you know why I am sad. Thank you for forgiving me and of course I do forgive you too Naga. You are right, let's put it behind us. And yes, as Amilia asked, do tell us how you became Queen! It sounded interesting on the road and in Seirune. Let's hear all the juicy details!"

Naga looked at her quizzically, then chuckled and said "Well, okay, why not. Let's see, I spoke of some of my past earlier. I had gotten as far as hearing about the job, I believe. Well, I applied, and, well, as you know, the people of the outer lands didn't develop magic like we did, something about being outside the Mazoku shield I think. So, of course, Naga the White Serpent, attitude not withstanding, won handily, and was appointed. Surprisingly, Westhold has a few magical secrets of it's own, and I found lots to study and some things that needed to be corrected in light of my better knowlege, coming from the West and all. And of course I had the King's ear and a generous salary, and was quite the freak at court with my "In your face" attitude. But there was always something about the King that was different. For one thing, he was one of the few men who had no problems looking me in the eye, instead of these!" she said, jiggling herself for emphasis. I found it refreshing!"

"Hear, hear!" chimed in Amilia giving her own ample bosom a jiggle like her sister. Lina muttered "Knock it off you two and get on with the story..." Naga laughed "OHOhohohohoho, Lina's still at it!" "At what?" Lina said dangerously. "Look, just put everything on hold for a minute, and do me this one little favour. PLEASE tell me what it is about my small breasts that everyone finds so amusing!" She looked at the two sisters. They looked at each other. Suddenly they burst out laughing, Naga with a full voiced peal of amusement, Amilia with an embarassed, "I'm sorry but I can't help it" giggle. "It's your reaction, Lina." said Amilia apologetically. "My what?" asked Lina in a small, very dangerous voice. "It's the way you blow up sky high over being called flat chested!" replied Naga, looking Lina square in the face. "You, you, youyouyouyou..." Lina gasped. She vibrated a minute then said, slowly and deliberately, "All this just because my reaction amused you? When your power returns..."

"Oh I'll be waiting for you, my dearest Dragon Spooker." chuckled Naga with a friendly smile on your face. "Oh, and you had to go bring that one up too didn't you!" yelled Lina. "OOOOOh, I wish I knew who started that! And why?" She slammed her fist on the side of the tub and then grimaced. That hurt. However, because it hurt, she happened to look at Naga and see the laughter in her eyes, and how hard she was vibrating, trying not to laugh. Something about the way she looked... Somewhere deep inside the penny finally dropped for Lina. "IT. WAS. YOUUUUUUUU!" she shrieked at Naga who burst out laughing her famous laugh full force. Caught between the two opposing forces of Lina's shriek and Naga's laugh Amilia seriously wondered if she'd be able to hold her breath long enough if she ducked under the water. She decided in the end not to, because Naga might need her to interpose herself between her and Lina's soon to be cast Dragon Slave. Lina had that unmistakeable look about her. However, by a supreme act of will, Lina brought herself under control. Naga stopped laughing and Lina took a really deep breath.

Finally she calmed down and said in a quiet voice "Actually, there's some truth to what you say about my over reacting. Just tell me why?" "You over react dangerously, blowing even me up with Dragon Slaves." responded Naga. "I didn't have a spell to counter the Dragon Slave with, so I found other ways to get even with you for that. Like the preposterous rumours of the Dragon Spooker. Actually, I didn't start a lot of them, they grew themselves, I just didn't stop people from blowing things out of all proportion. Let me think, it started innocently enough, some jerk was making a pass, and I asked him if he had ever heard of Lina Inverse, the sorceress famous for being so mean even the dragons were spooked by her. The guy gulped and said yes he'd heard of you. So I explained to him that I was your Mentor, and that if he didn't let go of my hand, which he was busy kissing furiously at the time, and buy me the biggest meal and the largest keg of brandy around to make up for it, he was going to find out what it was like to have a sorceress more powerful than even Lina Inverse mad at him. It worked. But the next day as I was leaving town I overheard people talk about how I taught you to spook dragons and I just kept using it. After awhile I started hearing the wierd stuff back spontaneously, "Lina Inverse tortures and easts baby dragons for breakfast!" that sort of thing, and well, I saw no reason not to get back at you for being fireballed or something, and I just encouraged it. Well, I had fun, but I guess it's time to lay that one to rest too, so I apologise for it Lina, along with the breast jokes, I'm sorry to have offended you with either. But I warn you, I don't know if I'm going to be able to stop for awhile. But hey, cheer up, big girls like me inevitably sag over time, where as you will look down right virginal to the day you die, you'll get your revenge in the end."

Lina looked down and after thinking about it said "I knew that too, now why didn't it ever click in? Jeepers, you are making it hard to fight you, you're going to have apologised everything away by the time your power returns." "Like that's going to stop you?" smiled Naga. "True enough..." responded Lina. "Will you two stop it with the fighting business?" said a perturbed Amilia. "Anyway, Gracia was supposed to be telling how the King wooed and won her, not arguing about how spooky the dragons find your breasts... er, no wait, that didn't come out right..." "Lina cocked an eye at the younger girl and said "First, Gracia. Then, you." "Yeah, okay, whatever..." gulped Amilia. "Please go on with the story, Gracia." she concluded.

Naga went on "I have an idea Lina, remember how most of our fights ended? After you weakened and I'd give up using the magic on you for safety and then we'd end up with you trying to run away and me swooping up and beating on you for fun?" "No" said Lina, warily cocking an eye at the sisters "I don't remember things that way, but we did run, yes..." "Well," Naga went on with a smirk, "after the war, even before the magic comes back, let's start there. I'm sure the exercise will do me good, and losing a race to me again will no doubt make you humbler!" Lina looked up and stared at Naga, who stared back. Then she did something very un-Lina like. She started to chuckle, then to laugh. "Okay. okay." she finally said. "You made me laugh, I'm happy again. And yes, we can race! That will be fun!"

"There we go, that's better!" said Naga. "Now on with my story. Well, there I am installed as Sorceress, doing a great job, and fairly well liked by everyone. Heck I even took a real liking to the King! Actually, I fell in love with him, in a friendship sort of way, not romantic, not then at any rate, or at least I got as close as Naga could come to that state. He was, is, kind, generous, warm, open, caring. I had not felt this sort of warmth from a man since mommy died and daddy changed." Amilia whispered "You left too soon Gracia, he came back..." Naga looked at Amilia and nodded "I know that now... well, to be honest about the love, Naga would wonder sometimes, after seeing Alfred dispence mercy with justice what life might be like as his queen, and wonder why he never found one, but she never dared hope she'd ever fill that role. Heck, she thought love was never to be hers, to tell the truth. She had resigned herself to being a virgin for life even before you met her Lina. I'm glad she was wrong!"

She then sighed and became more serious. "Now to get on with the story, it was noticed... that I had a thing for the bottle, especially about once a month, and then..." "Once a month?" asked Amilia naeively. "Think about it..." replied Naga. "Errr, oh, oops!" said Amilia getting it, then she asked "Why did you have to get drunk?" Naga sighed and said "I couldn't stand the site of blood after..., after..., mother..." she said, growing silent for a second. The room was steamy hot but it seemed to chill suddenly as Naga remembered that fateful night again. She wiped a tear away, Amilia seemed a bit burry eyed too. "Well, enough of that, I couldn't stand the site of blood, not fresh blood at any rate. So when it became "That time of the month!" I'd sneak away, as Lina might recall, and what she didn't know is I'd hole up for a few days and drink my self silly. Eventually I'd run out of booze, but I was good at timing it so that I'd wake up with the blood old and then I could stand it to clean myself up and carry on being Naga."

"I wondered where you went!" said Lina. "But my time usually hit then too, and I was happy just to take things quiet without you or anything else going on while that happened." she added. "And you would never explain. Is that why you like hot springs so much?" "I like them for many reasons." replied Naga, now recovering her normal voice, "but yes, that's one of them. I'd clean up well, before going in to one, but I never felt truly clean, clean in spirit I guess, until I had a good soak. Anyway, my little binges were up to a week long by the time I was hired, and it was noticed. I never could explain, and I didn't want to.

Then there was the first, uh... anniversary night here..." "Aniversary..." said a quiet, sad Amilia. "Oh Gracia..." "Of when your mom was, uh, you know?" asked Lina, who just wanted to be sure. Naga nodded. "I never could handle that night at all." she said quietly. "So I'd drink like I was trying to kill myself, and who knows maybe I was. I couldn't stand the accusing voice inside, the one that said that I wasn't good enough, that mommy would have lived if I had been faster." "Oh no, no, Gracia! No! It wan't your fault!" said Amilia. "I knew that logically." her sister replied, very sadly. "But my heart wouldn't believe me, and it always had the louder voice. It still does actually. The first year I was here I locked myself away and didn't come to for half a week, and I was sick for the other half. I always did this, right from the first year on. And they have such good mead here. And fruit brandy. Not grape like we are used to but other fruits that are fermented and distilled. It was a waste really. Oh yes, I was slowly sliding down the slope to being a gutter drunk, truth be told. But for the moment, I was still able to do good work when I was sober and made many worthwhile discoveries so they kept me on. But the drinking was noticed."

"And then came the second "aniversary" night. I had taken a vacation, as before, and had packed a suitably big cask of brandy into my room. Oh yes I was ready. But, just before I started, there was a knock on the door, and the King was there asking if he could just have a little chat. Well, of course you don't refuse a King, and yet, somehow, I could sense that in this case it was allowed, if that's what I wanted, and that got to me. No demands, no pulling of rank, nothing, just a man wanting to talk to a woman. And just to talk. I mean he had been very friendly and of excellent manners all the time I had known him. And even that night he looked me in the eyes, I had no doubts he was not in anyway "trying his luck", as it were. So I let him in. And that made all the difference. Now how did that happen? Well, start by understanding that I was emotionally as tight as I could get without exploding. If this had happened when I was calmer nothing probably would have happened. But I wasn't, I was nervous and jittery and emotionally unsteady. The King seemed to read me like a book and was right on target with his comments.

He started by asking why I was unhappy. Not if, why. I tried, unsuccessfully, to deny it, but he just looked hurt that I'd try that on him and I found myself confessing that yes I did have a secret hurt but no it wasn't the kingdom's fault, so not to worry. He looked sad for a minute then said I needn't tell him if I really didn't want, then he said that the reason he asked was because he was watching someone he cared about sliding down a slippery slope to ruin and he felt he had to at least make an effort to extend a hand. He then added, even more sadly, that there was nothing he could do if she didn't want to reach for it. I didn't go into details but I told him I had had a tragedy in my life nine years ago that night and that I never could stop the agony the memory brought me. He looked thoughtful for a minute then said "Well, a child, a lover, or a parent then, and given your age I suspect the latter. I know that tragedy, I lost both my parents and my only beloved sister to an accident seven years ago just earlier in the spring, and that is what made me King, long before I ever wanted to even have to think about it." He then briefly told me about his parents and the avalanche."

Naga paused for a breath then went on "Sounds tragic doesn't it? But I could see he genuinely hurt for his parents so I answered in a low voice, telling him things I had told no one else to that time. Not even you Lina, although maybe I should have, but..., maybe it was better the way it happened, we cleared a lot of things up on that walk that we might not have said otherwise. I told him it was my mother, and that she had been murdered before my very eyes. I then remember bending into a ball, all curled up in my chair and howling with grief. He said, very gently, "There's more to this story..." I managed to get out that I couldn't talk about it, I just couldn't. He replied, right on the mark "You feel guilty about it. I know that one too, I refused my father's invitation to go skiing that weekend he died, for no good reason other than laziness. I told him I was busy of course, but in reality, I wanted a weekend off from everything, because I was tired. I think he knew that too, but let it slide. Now I'll never know if I could have made a difference for any one of them. You see, they took the minimum staff with them, so there were too few hands to look for them after the snow rumbled. If I had been there..." He actually started to cry silently.

"How can you cry?" I asked him. "That's something I can't do. I wasn't fast enough, I failed her, I'm not worthy to mourn her..." I managed to get out. By now, of course, I was on the edge of the razor. I was farther into my emotional nightmare than I had been, oh, probably since the night it happened. Alfred then said the words that made the difference. He moved over to me and took my hands and looked me in the eyes. I was too far gone to object, it felt safe somehow, and in his eyes was genuine concern. "Did you love her?" he asked. I nodded. "Then you are worthy to mourn her. Failure is an act of fate, mourning is an act of love. You didn't hire the murderer, you didn't strike the death blow yourself, you just were not able to react fast enough in a sudden, dangerous, and very quick situation. But just because you failed to save her doesn't mean you didn't love her. Therefore you are most certainly allowed to cry, to mourn and grieve for her. In fact, you honour her by doing so."

"I know it seems so simple in the retelling, but it was just what I had needed to hear for nine long years. I was only sixteen when it happened, and I didn't know what to do. I was so scared that night, so scared, I blamed myself. I needed something that night that daddy was not able to give me, after all, he had to deal with a murder, the danger of more assasins, the possibility of a coup or an uprising, even a possible invasion for war, anything that this murder might have been a pretext for. He had to keep us safe in all of that too, and deal with his own grief. He didn't do anything wrong, he just couldn't be there for a sixteen year old girl who needed him, not some nurse or aunt or anyone else, but she needed her daddy to tell her it was okay to do what was really needed. The one thing that Alfred alone, besides daddy, could give me because I had come to respect, admire, and even love him so much. I couldn't do it, I couldn't give myself that permission, I needed someone I respected and looked up to to do it for me. Silly perhaps, but blasted emotions are like that. Anyway, the bottom line is simply that he gave me permission to cry for my mother. Until that night, last year, I had screamed, and laughed, and hated, and loved, and been crazy, but I had never, NEVER, cried for my mommy! And now, the one man who could do it, at the one time of the year I would listen, had come forth and given me the release I needed. As he spoke, the tears flowed for the first time, tears so hot they scalded my cheeks. But oh, the difference it made. He held me and rocked me like a little girl, he stroked my hair and I just wailed on and on, mourning and finding the release I needed. It was okay to cry. I wasn't bad for crying. I was good, I was loving mommy. Oh the peace that came with that..."

Naga stopped and just rocked herself for a bit. Amilia scooted over and hugged her. "I couldn't stop crying from the moment it happened." she said, then added "But I never saw the actual moment of the killing, nor did I have to kill that bastard either..." Lina looked down and said "I never knew until this past while just what you had been through Gracia..." Naga looked up with a smile and said "Not Naga?" "It didn't seem appropriate somehow." said Lina. "From you, my dear friend, it will always be appropriate, in fact, I would be honoured if you called me always by the name you knew me by!" Lina brightened. "Okay then, Naga, I will!" The girls all had a bit of a tension clearing laugh, and Naga want on. "Well, I cried my self to sleep, long after the tears had dried up from crying so much. I awoke to find I had slept a day and a night, and that the King had sent nurses to watch round the clock lest I needed anything. Someone had changed me out of my Naga costume and dressed me in a luxurious white nightgown. I have never worn that Naga suit since. It was my mother's and I wore it to honour her, or so I thought, but I think maybe it was a misguided way of having her hug me, because it was something that had been next to her body and now it was next to mine. But I no longer needed it any more.

I was given a cup of a soothing medicinal tea, courtesy of Doctor Erik, and the King was sent for. He shoo'd everyone out and sat on my bed and asked how I was feeling. I remember blushing as I told him I felt fine, better than I had in many years. I bowed to him, feeling shy and ashamed at my emotional outburst, I mean, he is the King after all, and started to apologise for my behaviour. I was stopped by the King forcefully lifting my chin up till I was looking him in the eyes and then he told me, quietly, but firmly, never, ever, to apologise for mourning for my mother. I was looking in his eyes, deep blue pools that they are and, well, being a girl, and all that I had been through, it was inevitable. My heart, sore and bruised as it was perhaps, could still take the next step. I realised I loved the King as a man. I simply said "I love you..." and waited for what ever the outcome was to be. I fully expected him to laugh or something. But what he said, in a strange voice, was "Really?" Then he smiled, a rare shy smile, as if I had given him something he never expected, maybe that he had never hoped even. I did notice his cheeks coloured a bit and a strange hope leaped in my breast, that maybe there was hope even for me that I might find love.

At this point the fact he was King had faded from my memory, I was thinking of the man. Anyway, he kissed me on the forehead and told me to rest. The rest of the story was, well, rather simple. We saw each other daily, and the visits became longer and more private. It took a good month before we kissed on the lips, but I think for both of us that first kiss sealed it. Anyway, four weeks after that he proposed and I told him there would be nothing that could make me happier than to be his wife. I wasn't even thinking about being queen or anything like that. Another four weeks later came the fastest Royal wedding ever held in Westhold. Then, as I told you, Lina, came the wedding night! And yes, I never had told him, in all that we had said, not from the time I was hired, until the night of my wedding, that I was Royal. He had assumed I was well brought up in a wealthy family from Seirune, and like I said to you Lina, I told him I was from the wealthiest one going, the Royal family. That's when I gave him what is now Amilia's ring to examine. He looked stunned and then laughed about being a virgin. I think I made him nervous, can you imagine."

"Oh I can imagine that." said a smiling Lina. Naga smiled back and continued. "He briefly explained about the mad monks and I believed him, then I took his hand and said "All that means is that we are going down this road hand in hand insead of you leading. I love you." and for some reason, I had the courage to start things, more than he did. I kissed him, and, well, my dear little Arthur tells the rest of the story. And yes, I am so happy! She ended her story with the happiest smile that Lina had ever seen on her friends face. Amilia was beaming too, and Lina realised that she too was smiling a big smile. "Aww, that's just so, so, cute?" said Amilia. "Sweet?" suggested Lina. "Nauseating!" said Naga with a laugh. "No, my life was full of ups and downs and it still is, but now I'm not alone and I have a sense of purpose and direction that I never had in the past."

"Um, say Gracia, if you don't mind my asking," put in Amilia, "The last, um, anniversary, to use your word, was what, about three months ago now. How did you survive that one? If what you say is true it must have been your first sober one since.., it..., happened, what, ten years ago now..." Naga smiled a very sweet smile and looked at her sister with a twinkile in her eyes. "Well, you could say that I found something to occupy my time, something that kept me busy and shifted the focus, so that, while I didn't forget what day it was, it added to the meaning of that day, and changed it for me forever." Amilia looked at her sister expectantly, and Lina was all ears too. Naga savoured a few seconds of mystery then announced "I gave birth to Arthur!"

"Oh my!" Lina found herself saying as Amilia gave her sister yet another hug. "I'm so glad" the Princess said to her sister, the Queen. "Daddy and I always worried about you, especially on that night of the year..." Naga gave her a warm smile and said "Don't worry about me any more. It's you two we have to get squared away now. Lina, I hope we find Gourry for you, a war this big has got to be attractive to a poor mercenary. Too bad his physical description matches half the men in Westhold. But, if he's here, we'll find him! But you, my dear sister, hmmm, you have a real nut to crack don't you?" she went on. Amilia looked down. "We were so close..." she said whistfully. "I don't know what to do. I see daddy's point about the succession being in trouble, but it is so unust that people could be unfair. I honestly can't see myself marrying anyone else if I can't have Zel." She sighed. "You might have to, you know..." said Naga, gently. "NO!" said Amilia with sudden passion. Then she broke down. "I- I can't stand it. He's so moody lately! He's going to leave, I know it! If he goes I'm following, and if Seirune can't accept a chimera for a ruler after me then let them appoint a new heir!" She wept. "Hey, it's okay." said Naga, hugging her for a change. "It hasn't happened, at least not yet, and maybe we can find..."

Just at that moment the back door, the one leading straight into the tub room, opened with a bang and a tall stack of books on legs staggered into the room. "Can someone help me please?" a muffled male voice said from behind them. The door, bouncing back from being opened so strongly, swung shut behind them. That broke the tension. Lina screamed and blushed! Amilia screamed and ducked behind her sister, blushing furiously. Naga stood up to her full height, not blushing, not hiding herself either, and pointed a finger at the books, laughing her most terrible laugh as she did so. The books gave a start and tumbled down to reveal the shocked face of...Zelgadiss!

"What do you think you are doing you horrible little man!" barked Naga as Zel turned away, but not before answering once and for all the old question that yes indeed, chimeras could blush! And furiously too! He went to the door apologizing as he went, but before he could get there Naga ordered "STOP!" He did so and said "What? Why? This was an accident, let me go so you can get dressed." Accident eh?" sneered Naga. "Who do you think's going to believe that one? Maybe that works as an excuse where ever you come from, Mister Lord Zelgadiss, but around here you just bought yourself a world of hurt, as the saying goes. So, couldn't wait any longer to see what Amilia was really like? Or just checking out the fabled beauty of the Queen of Westhold?" "What?" said Zel half turning before remembering the girls were naked. "What load of craziness is that, Your Majesty?"

"Crazy?" said Naga dangerously, as Amilia and Lina just looked on and blinked. "OH no, my friend, you forget where you are! This pleasant little kingdom is only a few generations out of a barbarian age where the Kings had absolute power. No my poor man, this isn't the west. Here, the nakedness of the Queen is the King's perogative, and he is the only man allowed to view it, apart from the royal doctor. You can bet that by now the guards know, if not the King, that you are here. You just invoked the death penalty on yourself, accident or not." "NO!" shouted Amilia as she sprang forward and knelt before her sister, grabbing her hand in supplication. "NO! If he dies I die, please Gracia, Your Majesty, help us!" She began to cry. "Amilia, calm down and let me think." ordered Naga. Zel gave an exaggerated sigh and stood there, facing the door. "What do you recommend then?" he said sullenly.

Naga was silent for a time as if in deep thought. Lina took the opportunity to nip out and dress in the night clothes laid out on the bed for her. When she came back Naga looked up and announced "In Westhold it had been the perogative of the Royal Sorceress to punish people who transgress against her herself. I can claim that righ and punish you myself. Only mark my words, it will be a punishment that is fitting to the crime or the King may not leave it alone. However if I have punished you enough, then he has to declare the punishment just and leave you alone." "How about banishment? asked Zel. "No, nothing that simple I'm afraid, you'd be hunted down." said Naga, thinking hard. She then looked around and saw Lina was dressed. "I must look something up, and get dressed, Lina will you make sure Zel stays here until I get back? Even though I never use them, these are my chambers and I can order people to stay out of them, even the King. If Zel goes into the hall he will be arrested and taken to the King, and I don't think I can help much if that happens. Come Amilia, you better get dressed too." With that the two sisters wrapped their towels and robes around themselves and left.

"Oh bloody hell..." said Lina quietly. Zel shrugged and said "I was returning some books that had been lent to me earlier today. Why I had to take them back I don't know but the librarian insisted there was no one to help and that it had to be tonight, and so I ended up with all those books on magic taken from the library of the Queen. I must have miscounted the doors though, because I ended up in the tub room instead." No, you got it right." said Lina sadly. "The library is through that door there. I guess that you just didn't know there was a tub party going on... Did you find anything at least?" she asked.

"Lots of interesting suff, but nothing pertaining to my main mission. Ah geepers, now what's going to happen? This is bloody insane!" said Zel. A minute later Amilia bounced into the room, as if in response to the question. She came up and shyly hugged Zel. "I won't let them do anything to you Zel, I won't, I won't" "Don't worry." said Zelgadiss quietly as he hugged back and rocked her a little bit. "We'll survive this I'm sure." Zel sad down on the bed, exasperated at the sudden turn of events. Amilia sat beside him, hugging him and feeling sad. It had been such a nice night too. Lina decided she was nervous about it all and went into the tubroom, and to sooth herself ended up eating the rest of the snacks. She was going to drink all the cocoa too, but a rare stab of guilt made her bring the last cup out to Zel. "Try this and get a bit of pleasure from tonight, okay?" she said as she handed it to him. "But just sip it okay?" Zel gave the cup a curious sniff and then took a sip. "Wow!" he said. "I could get used to this! It makes tea seem bland somehow!" Amilia smiled and said "Yup, it's called cocoa, or chocolate or something like that and it comes from the east. The same one that wants to invade us." "Figures, somehow." said Zel. They passed the time rather quietly, waiting for Naga to return. Finally, after all of half an hour, a mere eternity to the waiting trio she did return, bearing a silver cup.

"Right! Drink." she commanded, holding out the cup. "What is it?" asked Zel. "Your punishment." she replied. "No, really?" said a sarcastic Zel as he looked at the cup suspiciously. He said "What's in it?" "The ingredients are a secret." replied Naga "but you will be punished." "Give me some details, you are starting to make the death penalty sound good." said Zel, still sarcastically. "The death penalty is by torture." said Naga. "This cup is also torture, but you will survive." "Pain then." said Zel. "I have to convince the King you have been punished." said Naga, "It can't be a cold cup of tea."

"Maybe cold tea is torture for some of us." said Zel who was immediatly shut up by Amilia clamping her hand over his mouth. "Oh no, isn't there another way?" asked Amilia. "Well, if the King is in a good mood, he could just be castrated and blinded, but I have the feeling that's not what he's likely to decide." said Naga gently to Amilia. "Oh no! Come on Gracia! This is unjust! It was an accident!" said a worried Amilia. "Isn't this all a bit harsh?" asked Lina, not sure what to make of it all. "I didn't make these rules." said Naga sadly. "Please, Zel will live after this cup does what it does?" asked Amilia. "Yes, live and be fine." said Naga, holding it out to Zel again. "I still want to know what's in it." said Zel. "And what it does, exactly."

"Zel." said Amilia as she took the cup from Naga's hands. "Maybe it's better not to know. Anyway, you know you must take it, let's get it over with, okay?" Zel looked sharply at Amilia and said "No! I don't think I want to take it if I don't know what it is or what it does. This was an accident. Kind Alfred seems a reasonable man, I'm sure if it was explained to him it'd be okay, it was just an accident!" Amilia looked over to Naga who just shook her head. Amilia looked to Zel and said "If they kill you I will die too Zel, probably by my own hand." Zel stared at her and said sharply "That's crazy and you know it! Are you going to commit suicide if I get killed in this war?" "Yes, no, I don't know, I just know I love you and I'm young, and I'm foolish, and..." Amilia dissolved to tears. "Oh this is getting out of hand!" said Lina with concern. "There are already guards at the door." said Naga quietly. "It's not as if we can pretend nothing happend, I warned you. Look, you can take my cup, it will not be nice, but it will be over by morning, and you will live, or you can go out the door and try your luck with the King. I can't force you, only warn you and try to help you."

"Please Zel" begged Amilia. Zel sighed and said "I can't believe I'm doing this." With that he took the cup and drained it. Naga hung her head and said "It is called "The Cup of Priapas" It will, um, how to explain this, it will cause you, your, um, male member to do it's thing all night long." "That's my punishment?" asked a slightly freaked out Zel. "Um, no, there is a catch. It will fill you with an unbearable urge to relieve yourself of those feelings." replied an even more embarassed Naga. "But there is a catch. If you act on that desire for relief, you will find it, and you will soften again, but, you will never have hardness there again for as long as you live." Zel's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?" he yelled. "Keep your voice down or the guards will come" shushed Naga quickly. "This is crazy!" said Zel more quietly but perhaps more dangerously. "I KNEW I should have waited till I found out what was in the cup! How stupid can I get?" He glared at the Queen. Amilia took his hand and said with a sob "It's my fault! I shouldn't have insisted! But I didn't want you killed!" Lina said "Hey Naga, it's not for me to interfere, but this is the wierdest and perhaps worst thing I have ever seen you do." "You have a better plan?" hissed Naga in sudden anger. "No..." said Lina backing off. "If anything bad happens to Zel from this I'll never talk to you again, officially or otherwise, Gracia!" hissed Amilia in her turn. "Well, what do we do now?" interjected Zel, still angry. "In a few minutes the cup will start to work." said Naga. "Then all you have to do is resist the urge to relieve your, um, urge, until sunrise, at which point you'll go limp, then fall asleep, and sleep till the afternoon, or maybe the evening. Then it's over." By now Zel was shaking in anger. "You have stripped me of my dignity, you know. Where shall I stay for this ordeal?" "In this room I'm afraid." said Naga. "I can't protect you any where else. And stripping you of your dignity is part of the punishment, I'm afraid." "I'm staying too!" said Amilia, a strange light in her eyes. "No. That won't be safe!" said Naga, very worried. "Yes it will!" replied Amilia "and I'll tell you why. I want this man to be my husband and the father of my children, chimera or not! I WILL NOT let your cup succeed in preventing that! Nothing will happen, tonight! And you'll have a real battle with an angry sorceress in her own right on your hands if you try to remove me!" Naga looked helplessly at Lina. "Hey, don't look at me, I'm not interfereing in this." the redhead replied, still stunned by what was happening. Naga shook her head. "What will daddy think? Okay, I can't protect him from the guards if they have to come in to fight Amilia. I have no choice, you can stay. But remember what I said, please!" "I will." said Amilia quietly. She looked at Zel and smiled. She took his hands and sat beside him. "Please leave us now." she said. "Let us give Zel what dignity we can." "You won't be disturbed, I promise." said Naga. "There will be a guard outside the door, if you need help, let them know they will do what they can, even come to get me. Come Lina, I guess you better sleep in Amilia's room tonight, I'll take you there." The two women left the room. Lina looked sadly at Zel and Amilia and said "Good luck you two. See you in the morning." 


	16. pChapter15

Chapter 15 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke in Amilia's bed. "So this is how a mistress is treated, not bad, but I'd rather be queen I think!" she joked to herself. "Ah me, well I better find out how Amilia and Zel are." Seeing that the sun was up she knew the ordeal was over. She walked up the hall, tucking her robe around her as she approached the door to the room. The two guards outside it were alert looking, and yet they had been the two detailed to stand guard the evening before. They had a scary, determined look to them, these guards were obviously serious about their task. Lina had learned enough about the place to know there were no real permanent palace guards, but rather every principality under the rule of King Alfred sent a unit of troops to guard the great hall in it's turn. Lina thought to herself that if all the guards in Westhold were as well trained, and she suspected they were, then Westhold would be a very scary place to do battle against. No wonder the Kahn of the east was sending a million men. Lina shook her head at the thought, until a few weeks ago she didn't even think there could be a million people on the earth, let alone a million men of the right age and condition to amass a million man army.

Lina was allowed to go to the door and knock quietly. A minute later a red eyed Amilia opened the door and peeked out. "How are you?" asked Lina in a worried tone of voice. "We survived, don't worry." replied a dead tired Amilia. "I'm sorry, I had to know. I'll leave you alone now." said Lina. Amilia smiled and said "Thanks for needing to know. I don't mind that it was you, Lina." as she sleepily closed the door again. Lina padded down the hall and to her surprise found a tired looking Naga pacing in the hall. "I haven't slept either, Lina" she said, her bloodshot eyes confirming the truth. "They are alright." said Lina quietly. She felt like yelling at her friend, but something told her that was not the best way, this time. Instead, she simply said "Naga, go to bed. If we need to talk about this then we will do it better after everyone is rested. Good night." "I'm sorry Lina, I didn't know what else to do..." said Naga in a tired and weepy voice. She sniveled down the hall and went into the King's chamber.

Lina shook her head and thought for a while. "This is too wierd, I think something's up." she said at last, to herself. "After the war I might need to look into this. This doesn't fit with Naga's, or, from what I can tell, King Alfred's, character. Hmmm, oh well, breakfast time!" Lina got dressed in a hurry and went out to the main hall. Naturally she was the only one there. Oh well... A hearty big breakfast later and she was out the door seeing what was happening the night before. There had been a light rain in the wee hours by the looks of things, everything was wet or damp, there were a few puddles in the lower parts of the terrain, and the air had that fresh smell to it. "Ahhhhh...!" she sighed, taking a deep breath.

There was a bit of a stir in the horse stables and she wandered over out of sheer curiosity. A lot of extra horses were stabled there. Asking a few questions she found out that they were the horses of the guard from the western boarder that had arrived yesterday afternoon after they had been relieved by the arrival of the promised troops from the west. Seirune had sent a contingent, and some of the costal states, and, what's more so had Elemikia and even Zoana. Lina nodded sadly. Oh well, at least there was a chance of holding the gate now. Well, nothing for it but to wait.

Anyway the afternoon promised to be colourful, this was the gathering day, the day the muster of the full force of the army of Westhold was to arrive and form ranks outside the Keep, then prepare to march away to battle. Already the staff at the hall were readying a great meal, for the troops would be hungry, especially those who had done forced marches to get down from the northern most principalities and dukedoms. Lina thought sadly that it was unfair that so many men had to be torn away from their families and march off to the grim prospect of death, but she had no bright ideas of how to stop it either. This was simply not going to be a nice war.

"Lina, what are you going to do?" she asked herself in a moment of introspection. This was no bandit hunt. Still, Darkstar and Shabradnigdo had been no less scary and powerful, a million man army might not be undefeatable. And no matter what else, as long as you lived, there was always hope. Lina decided she wanted solitude that morning so she headed to the garden which was the shrine of the unknown god. She thought about what had happened recently and what was going to happen, and she used the time to wrestle with her fears. She knew once battle was joined there would be no time and she had to have them faced and controlled before then. At one point she even did the unusual and approached the altar and, kneeling down offered up a sort of prayer.

"Hey, unknown god? I don't know you, I don't know if you know me, I don't even know if you're real, or just a crazy invention, like that twit Martina and her Zoamel Guster, er Gustav, oh WHAT EVER... er, sorry about that, um, I'm not used to just praying without chanting or whatever the ritual is supposed to be you know? I hope you are real somehow, it would be nice, oh, there I go again, look, god? Is this really what you want for mankind? That we should fight each other and hurt and kill each other? I mean, what's the point? I know that when danger comes to me I will do what I have to, even kill, to defend myself, but does danger really have to come? Well, I guess it does, or we wouldn't have it, but it's hard to accept you know? Isn't there a better way? What do we have to do to find it? And can you please help us with this war? See, I want my friends and family to live, and I want to live. I want Naga's son to grow up, and have all the brothers and sisters Naga wants to give him. I want Amilia and Zel to work things out and have a life together too. And I want to find Gourry so I can tell him I love him, and I hope he still wants to marry me, and I want to make peace with Luna..., oh, I'm rambling again, I'm sorry. It's something I do when I'm confused and scared, like now. Please forgive me for disturbing you, I just need to talk to someone you know? I suppose asking for a sign is pointless, you are unknown, how would we know what to look for? But could you send some extra help, maybe? Okay, I don't know what else to say, I'm sorry if I bothered you, um, thanks for listening, I hope..."

Feeling a bit better for talking, but a bit sheepish too, and not knowing why, Lina got up and wandered back out to the main court yard. She went to see if Sylphiel was around, but after asking around and looking for a while she just couldn't find the raven tressed girl anywhere. "Oh well, must be busy..." she thought. So the morning passed, rather aimlessly actually, and Lina was wishing something would happen. It was still a bit too early for lunch, which was going to be late anyway because of all the preparations for the arrival of the troops. She observed that summer was just begining to get on, it was funny how quickly things could change. For once in her life, she looked forward to fall, for if she saw it it would mean the war was over and won. She was sitting near the front gate, thinking this and other cheery thoughts when she becme aware of a stir among the guards.

Picking up her ears she realised there was something on the road moving towards Stronghold. The guards were debating what it was, some suggested it was an early arrival of troops for the muster, others said it was the wrong road for the troops to be taking. Still others said it might be some sort of illusion caused by the rain from last night evaporating in the heat of the near noon sun. There was a discussion going on about whether to get the captain away from his duties of preparing for the arrival of the muster or wait till it got closer. "If it's trouble he'll be angry we didn't warn him right off..." said one guard. "If it isn't he'll be just as angry we disturbed him." responded his mate. "We need to send out a rider, but the captain has to order it." said a third. Lina saw her chance. She quickly cast Ray-Wing on herself and as she floated up she said to the guards, who, even thought they knew she was a sorceress, were still startled to see her take flight, "I'll go. I can be faster than a rider, and I can defend myself better too. Wait for me..."

With that she was off towards the vague movenent on the western road. Zooming in quickly she realised it was a large, no, absolutely bloody hugh army of men moving towards the city. She quailed for a minute, she had never seen so many soldiers all at once before. What was going on? She debated going back and warning the guards to prepare for war, but something told her to take a closer look first, so she kept going forward instead. As she closed with the army she suddenly realised she could recognise the standards! Seirune was there, and Elemikia, most, if not all the costal states, and other small kingdoms and free states too. Zoana was prominent, and, by the gods! There was Zefielia! What was going on? Then she saw...

"PHIL!" she yelled down to Seirune's ruling Prince. "What the hell is going on?" A chorus of "Hi Lina" or of "Hey it's Lina Inverse" rose from the nobles, many of whom Lina had met in one way or another, at one time or another, and from the rank and file too, for she was rather well known. And not always for the best of reasons. But like anyone was going to tell her that, to her face at least...

Phil called back up "Hey Lina! How are you? You taking care of my girls?" Lina cocked an eye and called back down to him "When did you hire me? We never discussed pay or anything..." Phil laughed. "Still at it, I see. Well, to answer you question, after you left we, my fellow rulers and I, got to talking, and we realised there was no way we could seriously leave you to struggle by yourselves, it wasn't just! Oh, and we also realised that the western gate in the narrow pass there was not the most defensable set up going, so, well, we just decided the only logical choice was to show up en mass and join the party, he, he." Lina had to land and give her head a shake. "That makes no sense to me, but I admit I'm not a military tactician..." "Tactics have little to do with it." said another voice. Lina looked over. "Hey Zangulas! You too!" "Yup, we're here!" laughed the King of Zoana, and former rival to Gourry Gabriev, as he patted his famous, or infamous, magical, Demonic Howling Sword. "How's Martina?" Lina felt compelled to ask. "Well, she's pretty good, for being eight months into our third child..." Zangulas smirked back. "She decided all things being considered she'd stay home this time and pray for victory." "Wow, three kids!" replied Lina. "Yup! One each, and we'll see in about a month what the new one's going to be!" he replied. "Er, so, how come tactics have nothing to do with this?" Lina went on, wanting to change the subject before she ended up with Zangulas' life history.

"Well, a wall gives a tactical advantage it's true, but a wall where all you can do is wait as the enemy moves up en mass and batters at you day after day until the inevitable happens is bad strategy. Better to ride out to meet him, and if you can meet another ally on the way who can join strength to strength, even better!" "Where did all these men at arms come from?" was the next question. "We combined all the fighting men available in the west." Phil said. "To be honest, we did what this Kahn of the east seems to have done, we conscripted every fighting man we had and melded them into a makeshift army. It isn't the greatest, but it is the best we could do in the time we had." "They're going to freak at the castle when I tell them what's happening, but you'll be more than welcome. Speaking of which, I better get back, the gate guards were arguing about if you were an invasion force or not when I left. See you all at the keep!" Lina said.

She turned to go and as she did she saw the banner of the Swordsmen of the Eternal Queen. "Oh!" she said and ran up to get a better look. The swordsmen were of course the elite force of Zefielia, Lina's own country. In his day her own father had been part of that elite regiment. As she ran up one swordsman, none other than their captain by the looks of things turned and called out "Hey! Little Lina!" Lina stopped, dumbfounded. No one had called her that name for years! Not since Luna had "suggested" her future lay out in the world and had basically sent Lina away from home. She stared and said "I'm sorry, I should know you, but I don't remember..."

"Ha, ha, well I'm not surprised, you used to look down on me, instead of up!" said the man as he removed his helmet. Lina did a double take. The man in front of her was a well developed specimen, almost a god. If she hadn't found another one in Gourry, she'd be tempted. But, he looked familiar. Suddenly it clicked. "No! It can't be! SHORTY?" Is that you?" she practically shrieked as she ran up and gave an old friend a hug. "Ha, ha, ha, I haven't seen you in years! How's life?" asked her old friend. "You've really grown you know! I bet you are breaking hearts..." she teased back. "Ha, well, not anymore, I'm taken!" he said with a big smile as he gave Lina an odd look. "And yes, I finally decided to grow up, I was just a late bloomer. You've turned out very pretty too, you know, Lina. Quite the petite little beauty aren't you? Still got your temper?" he added. "Err, ha, ha, ha, well, you know, somethings never change do they?" said Lina nervously recalling some of the antics she had pulled on Shorty. "Yup, that's true, at least from the reputatuon that goes along with the stories told about you." Shorty said in his turn. "But, we'll catch up later, okay?" "Yeah!" said Lina as she backed off. "Gotta go make some people happy! Later everyone!" she called out and waved.

She then called forth the Ray-Wing spell again, and popped into the air. One last look at the sheer size of the army and she was off like a shot to the keep. As she zoomed over the gate she called to the guards "Get your captain, he has the whole host of the West to receive!" Startled, they ran to obey. Lina landed by the doors to the hall and strode in, demanding the King or the Queen. She found out they were still sleeping, apparently the Queen had been up until late, for some reason, and the King hadn't slept either. So they were tired, obviously. Lina wanted to reach them anyway, but the guards at the door looked imposing, so Lina went outside and sudenly jumped up and Ray-Winged back into flight. She circled the castle quickly then nipped over a wall and was now floating outside the windows of the private chambers of the King and Queen. She peeked in all the windows, then suddenly found what she wanted.

Looking in the window she could see the royal couple, sound asleep in their bed. The picture it presented made her give a little gasp, and stop for a moment, against her will not to spy, she had to look. Naga was right, the bed, though well made, was plain. But the picture it presented with the sleepers that were tucked into it showed Lina that Naga had also been right when she said it was really made of love, and was more precious than the golden bed Lina had been sleeping in. The scene was simple enough, the room was plain, really, it could have been almost a peasant's house. The main feature was the bed, on which the King lay sleeping, lying on his back. His years of training were evident, as he wasn't wearing clothes, and his tightly muscled chest and arms were evident to Lina. A blanket covered both him and the Queen below their waists, but Lina imagined the legs would be well developed too. The Queen was lying on her side, as she almost always did as long as Lina had known her. When she did that, and was asleep, she had a certain almost doll like beauty to her, one that had charmed even Lina the few times she had awakened in the night and seen Naga, all those years ago. Even then she had seemed rather fragile somehow, and Lina now knew why. But, this time it was different, for Naga was lying with her head and shoulders on the King's chest, and even in sleep he had an arm craddling her. The fragile doll was now protected, and looked secure. Her fair, pale skin contrasted nicely with his slightly darker, more tanned body, but the real crowning glory to the picture was their hair. Hers was still black and shiney while his was such a pale blonde it was silver in this light. And his had to be almost as long as hers. Now it was scattered, and mixed with hers, like some sort of a shimmering black and silver aura around them. It lent them a sort of "other worldliness" look. Almost angelic somehow, Lina thought. And to top it off, at the foot of the bed was a cradle, proof that the couple had joined their lives together in the most lasting way possible. Lina found herself hoping that she and Gourry would look like that someday, not that she wanted anyone to see. But, she was here for a purpose, and after a few seconds she shook herself away from the blissful scene. Rising up a bit, so the sleepers wouldn't realise she had been spying on them she tapped the window sharply and called out "Naga! Get up! You've got company!"

She waited a bit impatiently until the window flew open and a sleepy Naga was there, now in a robe of course, saying, "Lina, what the hell..." "Get up girl, your daddy's coming for a visit!" Lina interupted, then went on "And he brought a few guests with him!" "Wha, what? Daddy? Guests? Huh?" said a now confused Naga. Lina lowered herself and looked Naga in the eye. "I don't know how he did it, but he's raised the west. I'm serious, he's marching in, along with many of the kings and/or generals, of the various lands we used to wander in when we thought it was the whole world." Naga gulped and looked startled. "Wh..., wh, why?" she finally asked. "Because," Linawent on, "they are bringing with them every able bodied fighting man in the west. I am serious Naga. If they have one man less than one hundred and fifty thousand men at arms with them, then I have bigger breasts than you do..."

Naga was speechless. In fact she seemed to sway like she was about to faint. The now robed King came out of the shadows and caught her. "I'm sorry to disturb Your Majesties." Lina said to him. "I thought Queen Gracia would want as much warning as possible. Now I need to find her sister and get her ready too. Please excuse me." With that Lina rose up and over the wall and went out to the main court yard to see where Amilia was. "Probably asleep too..." thought Lina. Suddenly she spotted Amilia, alone, in one of the gardens. She quickly landed beside her. "I thought you'd be asleep." she said to the smaller, raven haired girl. "I wish...," Amilia answered in a tired voice.

She went on "Well, actually, I did for a bit, but last night was emotionally hard. Yes we did talk a bit, and about important things too, but for the most part Zel was so silent. Well, it's his way I guess. I don't understand what Gracia thought she was up to, she's gotten very strange, or else this kingdom is wierder than we thought." She shook her head and said "When it was over, Zel said he was silent because he was resisting his urges. and I believe him. But I know he feels crushed and humiliated by this, and in his eyes he had that look, like he's going to run away again. I'm scared Lina, I know he won't take me with him if he goes..." she concluded, getting a bit weepy.

"I'm so sorry Amilia." replied Lina. "It seemed very out of character for your sister to do what she did, and we need to straighten things out. But not this day. I came to tell you your daddy is coming." Amilia looked startled. "Really?" she asked. "Oh, it must be he came with the troops to that wall, and is using this as an excuse to come visit. It will be great to see him again, but I suppose he'll want to take me back with him." She sighed. "Not this day, he's not." said Lina. "I'm not sure how, but he's raised the west, Amilia, and he and every king and general from the west is riding with him at the head of at least one hundred and fifty thousand men at arms. I know because I Ray-Winged out to see them. Remember Zangulas? He's one of the kings who's coming with him." As with Naga, Amilia was stunned to silence. Finally she looked to Lina and shook her head. Lina smiled and said "Go get Zel, he's part of Seirune's household now, he better be ready to meet his Prince, and show him that he's guarding his daughter!" After a minute of confused hesitation Amilia simply said "Right!" and ran off. Lina wandered back out to the courtyard, and found it abuzz with people busy trying to prepare for the unexpected arrivals.

In short order the King and Queen appeared, looking as startled as everyone else, and rode in what state they copuld to the front gate to greet the guests. Floating up to the wall near the gate Lina could see out and now there was no mistaking the absolute mass of men maybe a mile off now. They kept a measured pace and would arrive in less than half an hour, a very anxious one for the people in the courtyard as last minute touches were arranged, guards were set in honour guard rank and file, all ready to do their King proud when he greeted this unexpected arrival of the kings of the West! Lina noted that Naga had left Arthur behind. Oh well, the crowds would likely scare the poor infant.

About five minutes before the approaching army arrived Zel and Amilia arrived. Amilia was in a pretty white dress and was seated on a white horse. Zel had put on some armour it seemed, to look appropriate, though anyone who knew him knew his own chimeric skin was harder than the rings he wore, but still, it didn't hurt to look proper. His shield bore the white serpent of Seirune and he was standing guard to Amilia, or Amilia the White Serpent as she was now supposed to be nick named. Somehow it was fitting, and Lina determined then and there that if she had to bind him in chains and levitate him back he was not going to run away from Amilia if she, Lina Inverse had anything to say about the matter. But that was as far as she got, for outside the walls a series of orders were suddenly yelled and with surprisingly reasonable precision the unimaginable vast army halted.

A party of several horsemen, big enough to form a squadron of cavarly in some of the smaller states in the west, came forward. Outside the gate they stopped and the trumpeters raised their horns and blew a greeting. After a brief pause, sheerly for the drama of it, a brave lone man appeared on top of the battlements to the gate and called down "Who goes there?" Phil puffed up to answer but Zangulas beat him to it, perhaps by accident, perhaps by feeling it wasn't the time to risk a justice speech. "Friends!" he shouted back. "Friends that Westhold never knew she had, but friends never the less, loyal and true, come to help in her hour of need." The guard glanced at King Alfred, who gave a stunned look to his wife, who gave him one back. He nodded to the guard who then answered the assembled leaders of the west "Friends, you are unlooked for, but therefore are you the more welcome in this hour. Enter and be greeted by Their Royal Hignesses King Alfred and Queen Gracia of Westhold!" With that a trumpet sounded and the gates swung open to reveal the King and Queen sitting on their horses, trying to look as if they were greeting long lost relatives, and only partly succeeding.

Lina bit her tongue to avoid the giggle that wanted to escape. With a bang the gates opened fully. An order was yelled and the guards of Westhold snapped to attention, then did a smart little drill move to open the ranks and let the King and Queen, with Zel and Amilia, go forward. As the King and Queen rode up it appeared to Lina like King Alfred was trying deserately to decide what the protocol was for greeting this many dignitaries at once. However, the emotions of family solved that problem for him. As he got to the point where he would stop and make some sort of greeting his Queen suddenly spurred her horse forward and said, with tears in her eyes "Daddy! What are you doing here?" "Gracia..." said Phil tenderly as he opened his arm to her. She sank into his shoulder weeping. Amilia also felt overwhelmed and rode up. "Daddy...' she sniveled. "Amilia..." said Phil just as tenderly, opening his other arm out and hugging both his girls. The King looked startled and some of the other kings gave a chuckle, then someone started to clap, and in a minute there was a general round of applause. When it died down King Alfred spoke and said "Well, uh, now that the formalities are over, let me just say you are all most welcome. Please, Your Majesties and other worthy dignitaries, please, come into the hall of Stronghold and be welcomed! As for your men, if they can bear but a little march to the other side of the city they will find there a vast plain that they can encamp on. Provisions will be provided, I hope, we were expecting our army towards evening, and so have food and drink ready for a multitude. Come now and be most welcome!" With that he rode up to Phil and extended his hand in greeting. "Son!" boomed Phil taking the offered hand and shaking it heartily as he let his girls go. "Er, Dad!" replied Alfred, a little uncertain what to make of it all. With that they rode into the city as orders were made to move the vast army.

In a short time they were moving and passed by the city and within an hour or two a vast tent city had sprouted on what was once a green prairie. Food was sent out, plain fare, but hearty, bread, meat, several kinds of vegetables, and kegs of mead. Lina had a moment's indecision as to whether to join the high table or go eat with Shorty and the other Zefielian's, but seeing the bustle in the camp she realised he'd be too busy now and decided to make her visit in the evening. She made her way in to the hall and was soon seated at the table with Alfred, Phil, Naga, Amilia, Zel, Zangulas, and several others. She noticed that the same basic fare was offered to the royalty, obviously there had been no time to do anything special, but, as with all the cooking she had eaten since arriving at Stronghold, it was good stuff, and all seemed to be enjoying it immensely. The only thing conspicuous by its absence was anything alcoholic yet no one thought to ask for it, or else they understood about Gracia...

The servant girl Trina was busy bustling around like the other servants and when she came to the table to deliver a batch of steaming rolls Lina casually asked, "Has it ever been this busy before?" "No my Lady!" the poor girl panted as she bustled off again. Lina shook her head. A hugh hall had been built, apparently most of the time it was rather empty, but now it was filled to the brim it seemed. King Alfred made a point of going from table to table and talking with the various dignitaries while Naga stayed at the head table close to her father and sister. Of course Arthur was retrieved from somewhere and soon the table was laughing, mostly at the faces Phil pulled as he got his grandson to giggle. Naga looked worried and happy at the same time, whereas Amilia on the other side of her father seemed relieved to have his comforting presence near. Zel looked tired, which was unusual, it took a lot to make a chimera seem so, and he was withdrawn, much more than usual. Lina wished she could know what to say to cheer him up, but there were no words appropriate for what he had just gone through the night before. Hopefully time and Amilia would work their magic.

As for Amilia's worry about him leaving, that was a real possibility, and Lina felt frustrated she didn't know what to do about that. Well, nothing would happen before the war, so hopefully there would be time to think. And so a busy lunch was passed. Sylphiel and Prince Erik surfaced from somewhere and reported that they had almost completed all the preparations for the medicines and other powders, potions, and magics that might be needed for the healing of wounded warriors. From their tired looks, and the stains on their fingers, Lina had no doubt that they had been doing just that. White magic was, obviously, just as complicated as anything Lina ever studied in the Black, or the Shamanist fields, which were the areas she was expert in.

She chuckled to herself as she recalled her first meeting with Sylphiel and how she had though the woman a bit of a silly twit for all her gentleness and her well mannered upbringing. Then she had helped with her magic and saved Lina's life, more than once, and Lina realised that she wasn't anywhere near so silly, she simply had a different way of doing things. And now here she was working her fingers to the bone to help prepare for a war, something that Lina knew was an agony to the woman's gentle soul. And she was supposed to be Lina's rival for Gourry. Well, if Lina had to lose Gourry to anyone, Sylphiel was just who she'd want him to go to. Lina felt amazed, had she really matured so much? A couple of years earlier, as a teenager, she might have dismissed Sylphiel or felt angry that she even stood in the role of a possible contender, but now she realised that she was growing up after all, maybe her sister had been right. Sylphiel looked over at Lina and was greeted with a very warm smile. She answered in kind, though she wondered a bit at what Lina was so happy about. Oh well...

After the meal Lina found herself drifting again. This was truely the first hell of war, the waiting. The Hall was bustling, out riders had come to report the near arrival of the troops of Westhold. They were sent out again with messages that the great army encamped on the plain were friends and not to be feared, which was good, nothing like two strange armies meeting unexpectedly in a war to start a battle, but when they were supposed to be allies, it tended not to help things.

Lina wished there was something she could do, but everyone was busy it seemed. The servants had things well in hand and while they appreciated the small help she provided there were really no openings for her. Sylphiel was still busy with the last of the preparations, they would be done by night fall. Lina helped a bit, getting packaging ready, making some bandages, but it wasn't much. Mostly it was kick up the heels and wait. She looked for Zel and Amilia but they were busy enough with Phil, and Seirune business. Lina shrugged and went looking for Naga, but she was off with the King somewhere.

Lina took to looking at the statues in the hall trying to figure out how they were carved, she remembered the incident with the golem making where Naga had made a most elaborate if mysterious creation, while Lina had hardly been able to make a lump of clay that looked like a lump of clay. So, a part of the afternoon passed for Lina, and she found herself down a deserted hall looking at a fairly big piece of work which portrayed a man seated on a stool, hunched forward with one hand under his chin as if thinking, or was it indigestion? Lina chuckled at her own joke as she went behind the statue to marvel at the detail the sculptor put even in the back, the part that was not going to be seen against the wall. Now, she may not know how it was done, but even Lina could appreciate that this statue was a labour of love for someone. Suddenly there was a bang as a door opened.

Feeling in a reflective mood and not wanting to be disturbed Lina crouched down hoping the statue would hide her. There were two people moving along the hall by the sounds of it, and they were speaking in the low giggly voices of lovers. Great, two lovebirds. Well, Lina hoped they'd be so absorbed with each other they missed her. She really didn't need a reminder that Gourry wasn't here. The couple passed close by then stopped right on the other side of the statue. With a start Lina now was able to recognise the voices. It was Naga and Alfred! "Oh great..." thought Lina, "They'll think I'm spying or something. I wonder what sort of cup I'll get to drink..."

However the couple didn't seem to realise she was there. It sounded like Alfred suddenly swept Naga into an embrace and said "Damn this war!" followed by what had to be a long kiss. When they finally stopped he said "I can think of things I'd much rather do that muster the army, that's for sure." "And do they all start and end with me?" giggled Naga. " You know it sweetness!" was the reply. By now Lina was biting her tongue to keep from making a sound, it was syrupy, but, they did think they were alone, and after all, she did have a vague idea that when Gourry finally got around to calling her something like that it wasn't going to sound as sappy, somehow...

Another kiss, then the King said with a sigh, "Well, much as we might feel like shocking the staff, we had better get going. Today is going to be busy." "Will we have tonight?" asked Naga rather pensively. "Yes, under no circumstances am I missing tonight with you, beloved! But, in the morning we must ride away, no help for it." Lina suddenly perked up and paid attention. They were leaving in the morning? Aaaah! She hadn't realised the departure was quite so close! What were Naga's plans? What of Amilia and Sylphiel? The royal couple moved off and Lina finally breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, now she had something to do, she had to get ready, the departure of the army and her departure for the place where the enemy might try to quarry through the rock wall would be close together. Giving the seated stone man a pat of thanks for hiding her Lina scrambled off to her room and began packing what she thought she might need.

She had only reached the point where she had packed everything once and thought it over three times when trumpets began sounding in the court yard. The armies of Westhold were arriving! Lina went out and made her way to the wall to see the specatcle, along with everyone else. It was very similar to the earlier arrival, except the armies were coming down from the north and moving in somewhat more of a battle formation. Spotting Trina, Lina moved over to her and got a colour commentator for the arrivals. The younger girl was happy enough to tell the important newcomer all about the various regiments that swept in to view and turned to the left or right as they moved to their assigned places to encamp. Some of the armies were colourful, some were plain, but they were all determined, and had Lina any doubt about what she had been told of the constant training the men of Westhold did, it was answered in full that afternoon. Farmers or townsmen they might be, but given the call they were all soldiers, obviously well familiar with their arms, their armour, and their battle drills.

And just men? No! Lina was surprised to see that there were companies of light cavalry and archers marching in who were clearly women, and clearly warriors. "The infantry and the heavy cavalry are the only fighting forces where we have no women, Lady Lina." explained Trina. "In single combat a well trained woman has as much chance to win as a well trained man. But in group actions the greater strength of the men eventually wears women down. We know, we have tested this, and all women understand that when it comes to brute strength men do have the upper hand. But on a horse with light arms and armour, or with a bow, there is no difference, and most of the various lords allow women to serve in these capacities. And some victories have been won because the women were there to do their job!"

"Wow!" said Lina. "Okay, so it must be great to be a woman in Westhold!" "Well, I think so!" said the servant girl in reply. "Of course I know little of the rest of the world. Is it true that in your west women are somehow second to men?" Lina looked startled, then laughed. "Well, in some places, yes it is. In others it is the men who are second to women. But in most places it is fairly equal between the two sexes, yes." "Oh, but you can own property, make your own living, marry who you want, and manage your own life without needing a man's approval, can't you?" Trina asked. Lina said "It depends where you are. In most places, yes, in some places no, and in some places, like I said, it's the men who end up on the short end of the deal. However, as to my comment earlier, I can't think of too many places where women are allowed into the army at all, and usually they do honour guard work or get used as spies and assasins, not fighting in a war. Here they recruit you and honour you. I've just never seen it before is all." Trina smiled "Well, I'm glad we do something that amazes you! Ha, it would be sad indeed to think you had seen it all, already."

Lina smiled back and Trina went on with the colour commentary. Regiment after regiment swept in, some from the south, most from the north and by evening as the last were arriving it was clear that there were two mighty armies of nearly the same size camped on the great plain. Lina said "Well, it must just about be supper. Then bed I guess, something tells me we will have an early start tommorrow." "Yes!" said her companion. "Tommorrow this will all be undone as the army packs up and then marches away to victory!" "Or death..." said Lina softly, speaking to herself. Unfortunately it was overheard, and Trina's sobbing reply of "Yes, or that..." suddenly reminded Lina that Trina had to be under a lot of strain too. "I'm so sorry Trina!" she said turning to the girl. "I meant to think that remark and I went and said it, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you..."

Trina turned a teary face to Lina and said "It isn't your fault Lady, we are all aware of the horror that comes our way." "You have loved ones in that army don't you?" asked Lina softly. "My father, my two brothers, and, and..." "A sweetheart." finished Lina. "I'm sorry Trina, if it helps, I have friends I care about in the other army too. And my sweetheart went missing after a misunderstanding, and I can't find him. It's as if he's dead..." She stopped and looked startled. "Lady?" asked Trina quietly. "Dead!" whispered Lina. "I never thought of that. We hunted bandits in the west, and we were good at it, my magic and his sword. But we parted company and, and, maybe someone found him, and wanted revenge, and, oh GODS!" she suddenly yelled. "And I wasn't there to help him! Gourry, NO! Don't be dead!" With that Lina burst out crying and ran off leaving a startled and confused Trina to herself.

It was Zelgadiss who found her in the garden of the unknown god. She had gone there to weep in peace and get her fear out of her system. She had knelt by the altar and had poured her tears and fear out onto it, having no one else to talk to. Finally Zel came and put his hand on her shoulder and had asked what was wrong. She told him. "Lina, I'm sorry, but that possibility did already occur to me. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to take away your hope. But listen, you don't know he's dead any more than you know he's alive. So here's what you're going to do. You will buck up your courage for now, the war is hard upon us now and needs to be won first. Then, when it is over, you and I will hunt for him. And if our worst fears are true, we will find who did it, and wreak such vengence upon them that they will curse the fact they were born before the end."

Lina looked stunned at Zel for a minute, then said "That is the most horrible thing I have ever heard you say, and yet, it is just what I wanted to hear. Oh Zel, may it be we find him alive and we don't have to do that." "I agree." said Zel quietly. "Now, come Lina, it is time for supper, and then plans will be made I guess." "Okay." said Lina simply, as she stood up and prepared to follow Zel. As she walked out she suddenly realised she had forgotten to take her boots off. "I'm sorry! I meant no disrespect!" she said to the stones. She walked out and said to Zel "The strain is getting to me I think, now I'm talking to rocks!" Zel chuckled and said "Or you are developing a theological conciousness. Don't worry Lina, as I understand it this shoe business is a sign of respect cooked up by the Westholders. for all we know the unknown one is offended by bare feet. But since he hasn't spoken up, who knows? If he even exists?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right Zel, but that bit about why is the Lord of Nightmares a woman if there is no man for her struck a chord somewhere, and I don't think it was just because of my feelings for Gourry." replied Lina "Would it surprise you to learn that I have asked that question too?" asked Zel. "I have wondered more than once why, if the Golden Lord could be fertile and make the four worlds all by herself, did she make all life divide into male and female elements? Even the individual Mazoku and the Gods are preferentially male and female. Look at Xellos or the Beastmaster, they don't breed, at least not as we understand the concept, but they take a male or female form as they see best for them, and I'll bet that if we saw beyond the shapes of their astral forms they would somehow seem male or female even then. Why then only a female supreme goddess?"

"I like the King's answer" said Lina. Zel gave her a quizzical look and Lina related her brief meeting in the garden with King Alfred. Gee, was it only yesterday? Yet so it was, before the tub party and the disaster that had followed. "So, daddy is waiting in the background till we are old enough to realise there is another face besides the golden shining one of our mother? Hmmm, in an odd way that makes enough sense that I won't dismiss it as a possibility. He, he, there Lina, now you've gotten me all theological too." Lina laughed and her spirits lifted. Then she stopped and was serious again.

"Zel" she said a little hesitantly, "Amilia thinks you are going to leave her. Is that true?" Zel was quiet and serious for a minute. Then with a sigh he said "Yes it is Lina. But think about it from my point of view, okay? I can't marry her as a chimera, the succession won't allow for any...thing... not fully human on the throne. Amilia is as hurt by this as I am, and I think I begin to see in her a willingnes to be desperate and try to force it through otherwise. And if she tries hard enough I would probably give in. My flesh is stone, but my heart is human. Last night, well, I'm glad she was there, it helped, but, I've never felt desire so all consuming before, and every ounce of it was directed at Amilia. I love her, Lina, and I want her as a man wants his woman, and the danger is, if she tries, I will give in. Then what? Does she abdicate? The people love her, but there is not the same feeling towards Phil's brothers and their offspring. If she goes, now that Gracia cannot take her place on the throne, the real prospect of civil war looms. And if she stays, with my baby as her successor, there could be one anyway. No, I have to leave, it was just a dream Lina. But now, I have to wake up."

Lina nodded saddly. "Zel, after we find Gourry, the three of us are going to look for a cure, no matter what it takes. No, four, for Sylphiel has noticed this too, and has offered all her power to help. Then, if Amilia is still free, you are going back to her if I have to drag you kicking and screaming all the way. If not, well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it." "Well, I know you Lina, so I know better than to say no. Okay, you've got a deal!" he gave her a smile and they shook on it. Then they went into the hall to eat.

The meal was even more crowded, for now there were the nobles and generals of Westhold added to the throng. A lot of talking and getting to know each other was going on between the two groups, as well as a lot of sizing each other up. Still the supper, though simple seemed ample enough and soon, as bellys filled and the mead horn made its rounds at this meal things loosened and lightened up. An aunt of the King appeared to do the honours of the welcoming ritual with the mead horn and her husband, the King's uncle, took the ceremonial first sip on the King's behalf. Lina was amazed that King Alfred's love for his wife would be strong enough for him to fly in the face of an important custom, which the greeting ritual obviously was, but she again felt a little lump of happines for Naga that it was so. Then the horn made its rounds and friendship was served. Lina took her sip, and since it was her first taste of mead found that Naga had been right, it really was delicious!

Then supper came, and Lina set to, being emotional was hungry work after all, and as she did she observed the people at the table. It was soon evident to her from the way Naga kept glancing over to Zel and Amilia that she wanted to tell them something, but the moment was never right, or the crowd too thick, or both. Oh well, she could apologise later, or whatever it was. The meal went on, and people seemed to be taking their time about it, partly because they were hungry, and partly because afterwards, the council of war would start, and the orders given to march away. It was the last ritual of peace that would be known for many a day, this sitting and eating with friends new and old.

Alas, it was not to last! The meal had gotten to the dessert stage when there arose a yell from outside the doors to the hall "Way to the King!" someone yelled, and the doors flew open with a bang. A man, obviously tired, ran in and sank to his knees at the head table and said, without being bidden, "Majesty! I left the wall two days ago in the evening when the outpost runner arrived. I have not stopped in two days. He had taken three to do the same thing! They are coming!" he then fell silent, as did the hall. The King looked pale then said "Give this man meat, drink, and rest! For our guests, the meaning of his message is simple. There is a mountain some one hundred and fifty miles into the plain passed the defensive wall, where we have set up an outpost. It is so tall you can see twenty miles to the horizon, even more on a good day. And if there is a large army on the move you can see the dust even before the army is visible. The enemy was about one hundred and seventy five miles from the wall five days ago. If they have been forcing their marches they might now be less than one hundred miles. A smart commander would rest his troops for a day then take them by easier marches the last distance to make sure they had strength for battle. I estimate they will be at the wall in about five days. We have some eighty miles of our own to cover in the same time, and we may not have the luxury of resting. Gentlemen, we leave as soon as light permits in the morning, and we do not stop until we have to, and so on till we arrive. I'm sorry. Now, let the hall be cleared and we will begin the final planning stage. Let the servants brew strong tea and coffee, we will have to explain things to our guests and get explanations from them too before we can know how best to deploy our various strengths. This will take awhile I'm afraid."

As he spoke he gave a heartbroken look to his Queen who bit her lip to avoid crying. Lina understood. She went over to Gracia and said "I think we have plans of our own to make, Your Majesty." The distraction worked. Naga looked over and said "Why do you call me that Lina?" "I didn't want to be disrespectful in public, you are the Queen after all." she replied. "But now I need to consult with Naga the Serpent about the battle for the cliff." "Yes, let's go, you are right." The Queen got up and whispered to the King who nodded and gave her a quick kiss. Naga flushed slightly, but smiled, and then left with Lina. To their surprise Amilia and, of all people Sylphiel, went with them. "Uh, this isn't social, I'm sorry, Ladies." said the Queen. "We know." said Amilia. "You don't understand." added Sylphiel. "The battle for the ramp, or what ever you want to call it, we're coming too."

"HUH?" said Lina and Naga together. "Listen, it's simple." said Amilia. "And I've already put my foot down with daddy, so there isn't any help there. The entire army from the West is here. If they lose, there is no one left to make a second effort. It is do or die time. So, since I have nowhere safe to go back to and no one to command in a defence, it comes down to each of us doing our own part to win the war here. I chose to go with you Gracia. First off, you have no power, so it's just Lina alone, but not now. Second, if we win the victory will be total, and I'll be all right, if we lose, that will be total as well, and I'd rather die trying than sit around in Seirune waiting."

"And for my part," Sylphiel went on "you girls will be slinging some heavy duty magic around out there. I can't help attack, but I can defend, and help you heal and restore if need be. You are good Lina, no, you are great, but you are not the Golden Lord of nightmares. Well, once, briefly, you were, but not now. We have to keep you away from those Giga Slaves after all." she ended with a smile. Lina laughed. "I remember Sylphiel, don't worry. And okay, I can't argue against your logic, so, if the Royal Sorceress here, Naga the Serpent approves, welcome aboard!" Naga looked a bit like a deer in the headlights might look, once headlights were invented, then with a resigned sigh said, "Oh well, this whole thing is getting out of my hands, so why not. Welcome, and we are glad to have you ladies, we really are. Okay, into the sitting room here, we need to talk." 


	17. qChapter16

Chapter 16 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke. She had dozed off in the chair she had snuggled into the night before during the talking. Seeing the others were there dozing too she realised it was getting towards morning. She got up and quietly went out to get ready. She knew she would need to travel lightly, so she made her way to her room and grabbed her prepacked bag. She dug some little things out of her closet and had a quick wash in her bathroom. That's when she realised it was happening again. That time of the month. "Not now!" she screamed! After a minute or two of silent cursing it occured to her that it was better now than if it had been a few days from now, she would be done with it and just about back to her usuall strength when they were going into battle.

She grabbed a few more necessities for the road and went back to the sitting room. As she walked in the room a sleepy Naga asked "Was that you?" Lina gave a nervous giggle and said "Err me? Who? What?" "I'm halfway through mine." mumbled a sleepy Amilia. "I just got over it, it's the stress, it can throw your timing off..." yawned Sylphiel looking for all the world like she was talking in her sleep. "I have yet to restart" mused Naga groggily as she struggled to her feet. She looked sad. Lina looked blank and blushed at the fact that everyone had guessed what was happening, then asked "Um, why did you sleep here Naga? I know we all fell asleep in our chairs, but didn't you want to go to bed with the King or anything? Being it's the last night and all?"

Naga cocked a bleary, questioning eye at Lina and said "He never came for me. That means he's still in the great hall. By the nine hells, he's probably been awake all night! I'm going to see." She walked off. Lina looked around and said "Well, I wonder when we start?" "Sylphiel replied, dreamily "I was up a bit earlier, it's the dark before the dawn, if you try you might get another hour and a half or so of sleep Miss Lina." "No, you've been dozing since then, Miss Sylphiel, we have maybe half an hour." muttered Amilia trying to wake up. "Pardon me, I have to go get ready." She struggled up and went out. Sylphiel startled Lina by using a word that was something like manure and opened an eye. Lina chuckled and said "Sylphiel, you're going to lose your reputatuion if you keep that up!" "You think so?" said the shrine maiden. "Oh my..." She sat up and opened her eyes. "I haven't had to get up this early since those silly sunrise rituals at midsummer we used to have to do in training." she said. "I must be getting old or something..." "No, but you are being silly." said Lina with a laugh. Sylphiel smiled one of her warm rich smiles and got up. "I better get ready too." she said as she left the room.

Lina mused to herself "Would Gourry be better with her? She's so kind and gentle." Her thoughts were interupted as Queen Gracia returned with a pot of coffee and some cups. "Where did they go?" she asked of the other two. "Getting ready." was Lina's reply. "Ah." was the reply back. "Well, Alfred is awake, he and daddy and a few others are arguing about some plan or other. Some of the other nobles are asleep in their chairs. I don't think they rested well. Well, we have to go soon. Are you hungry?" "No" said Lina. "I'm too tired." "Me too." said Naga. "Well, I better go feed Arthur one last time. Damn it all, I hate that some other woman will have to feed him while I'm away. But for once I can't take him." She sniffled slightly as she went off to see her baby. "No, it isn't fair." thought Lina. Your little man needs his mommy, Naga. Damn this war!" She grabbed a cup of coffee as Amilia returned and did likewise. Soon Sylphiel rejoined them too. "Well, here's to us!" said Lina raising a cup of coffee in a toast.

The others joined in with a sleepy "Cheers" and downed the drinks. They made small talk as they waited for Naga, who eventually appeared with the head maid, Cymbelene, behind her, holding Arthur. The baby was sleeping contentedly. "Are we ready?" asked Naga, sounding hollow. "Yes!" the crew replied. They shuffled out. There were horses ready, one for each, and a pack horse with extra supplies. Naga looked at her sleeping baby once more and then mounted her horse. The others did likewise and then they were off. Once they passed the gates Naga suddenly started weeping. She had held it in while the baby was around lest she awaken him, but now she could no longer hold back the tears. Lina rode over and put a hand on her shoulder, it was as close as she could get to a hug while on horse back.

Naga pulled herself together and they rode on, to the east, past the rows of tents and the quarter of a million men camped within them. After a bit they noticed King Alfred was mustering some of the troops of Westhold off to their left. Someone must have pointed out the Queen's party because he suddenly spun his horse around and galloped over to the party of the Sorceresses. He rode straight to Naga and half pulled her from the saddle as he planted a last, fierce kiss on her lips. One she returned with equal passion. "Remember!" he said. "In life or death, the King of Westhold loves his Queen more than anything!" "And the Queen equally loves her King!" replied Naga just as passionately. "May all the gods and the Golden Lord herself bless you ladies with luck!" said the King to the group. "You likewise! replied Naga. "And the Unknown God too!" piped up Lina. The King raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Yes Lady Lina, him too! Thank you! Until we return in triumph, then." he said resting his hand on Naga's shoulder for a second. Then he spurred his horse and galloped back to where he was before.

Naga watched him for a moment then gave a sigh and spurred her horse forward. The group moved again. She turned to Lina with a smile and said "The unknown god? You taking to the theology of Westhold are you Lina?" "Well, he's important to the Westholders, and I can't shake the idea that maybe, just maybe, he exists. So, why not?" Naga laughed. "Yes," she said, "why not? And you are right, who knows? Well, we better make miles ladies, that rock wall needs defending too." With that the group finally started out in earnest.

They rode on in silence for awhile taking in the rare beauty of the earth in the predawn light. The stars were just about faded from the sky, only the brightest ones were still alight. In the east the sun was about to make an appearance by the look of the red glow on the horizon and the intensity of the red on the few small clouds that were scattered in the eastern sky. Very soon now there would be a golden glow and the ball of the sun itself would pop above the horizon. Lina found herself remembering the words of the old poem Zel had quoted the morning he and she had flown Queen Grace to Seirune. "Awake! For the Hunter in the bowl of night, hath loosed the stone that puts the stars to flight." Lina found herself wishing she knew the rest of the poem. Well, one more reason to win the war! There was still knowlege to be learned! She smiled to herself at her plan.

They continued to ride through a glorious morning that made one glad to be alive, and so on till the heat of the day made them stop for a bit of lunch in a shady grove. "Gee, we are a talkative lot today..." ventured Lina. "Yeah, I know what you mean." replied Amilia. Then there was more quite except for the small, "please pass the..."sort of thing you get at a meal. Finally Sylphiel spoke up. "Nuts on this! If we keep brooding in silence we are going to be in great form by the time we get there. Come on ladies, if we can't talk then lets sing or something!" Lina chuckled. "I don't know if you want to hear me singing, but I agree we need more talking, does anyone know any stories?" "Yes!" said Amilia. "You do!" "Hey?" asked Lina. "You and Gracia. I want to hear what it was like when you two were together as partners! I want to know more about the golem fight, Mispros island, and all the other stuff you've alluded to and started totell about, since you two got back together. And I want ALL the details!"

Lina looked at Naga who looked back. They started to giggle, and with that the gloom of the morning was blown away as the group broke into a full blown laugh. Soon they were on their way again, and Lina and Naga started reliving some of their old tales, and loved every minute of it, as well as every argument, no, fight, over some of the details, not the least of which was who really was the hero in which situation. Doing so they passed the time till evening when dark was settling and they finally settled down for a camp. They had a more lively supper, and even persuaded Sylphiel to sing some of the songs she knew. Not just the popular ditties and love songs, but even a few of the great epic songs where long heroic tales were put to song and verse to make them more memorizable. There were tales of love lost, and found. There were tales of heros of old, of gods and demons and even of the making of the world. Not that she sang them all in one night, but over the course of the trip she sang nightly. It made the time pass more pleasantly, despite what they were going to. Still, it wasn't easy. The girls didn't forget to set a guard and took it in turns to watch during the night. The fear of patrols was real, even shadow warriors or mazoku allied with the east. But, nothing happened. Perhaps the enemy was over confident?

Finally came the day of the arrival. Lina expressed a hope nothing was going on. Five days had passed, and that time of the month had finally ended, just, and her power was returning, but it was not up to absolute full. "Don't worry Lina." said an optimistic Amilia, "I don't think there's any army that could beat you, even if they jumped on you when you were at your weakest!" "Thanks for the vote of confidence." said Lina with a smile. Then she added, more seriously, "I'm not invincible though, don't forget that." "Don't worry Miss Lina." said Sylphiel. "You have two powerful white sorceresses, Miss Amilia, and me, to back you up. You are very strong in your own right, and despite the merry war that goes on between you two it is obvious that Her Majesty and you are very able planners, and that between the two of you is a great amount of wisdom, and experience, plus the ability to think on your feet. I know you'll be fine." "Thanks Sylphiel." said Lina with a smile. Then she added "I don't know if that bucks up my courage or makes me feel more pressure because you are all relying on me." "Alas, it's probably both." sighed Sylphiel. "Ahh, don't worry about it." said Lina. "I'm going to win and that's that!" she added, ending on an upbeat note. There were three cheers for Lina from the others then they were off.

They were tired, their horses were tired, they had pushed themselves as fast as they could to get there quickly. Even so they were some dozen miles from the cliffs proper when they set out in the morning. It was a clear morning, they all had been in fact, yet to the east where they were riding it soon became apparent there was some sort of a mist or haze in the distance. At first they were speculating about whether there was an updraft bringing up sand from the plains below, but as they came closer it began to become apparent there was no such wind. They became more silent as the they got closer. Finally they were a league off the mark, a mere three miles from their destination. Lina put what they had all feared into words. "Face it gang. That's dust from work. They are here already, digging at the cliff. By the looks of things they only need to make a ramp from the lower plains to here, and when they get up here they are away. Not a complcated task, it just takes a lot of digging." The others nodded silently. "What's the plan?" one of them asked. "Ride up and Dragon Slave them." was Lina's response. "Well, we better do it then..." said a subdued Amilia. "Watch for guards" added Naga as she rode forward.

The little group followed, feeling inadequate somehow. "Maybe we should have brought more sorcerers." said Amilia. "No." said Naga, quietly. "They are just as needed where they are going too. No, if we can't do it, it can't be done. So, let's do it." There was a general nodding of heads and the group moved forward at a steady pace. Finally, they were there. "Hey Naga, didn't it occur to them there might be resistance? No guards?" said a worried Lina. "Watch for magic then." said Sylphiel. "Do you sense something then?" asked Lina, thinking that she could. "Yes," Sylphiel replied, "there is a stirring in the earth and the sky, they are tapping into the Ley lines of the heavens and the Dragon lines of the earth. Powerful magic, they maybe didn't think they needed a guard." "Well, we shall see." said Lina.

They stopped maybe a hundred yards from the face of the cliff and dismounted. Walking to the edge they peered down. Far below there was a bustle as of many ants scurrying around in an amazingly organised way, digging away at the soft rock. Still, for all that they hadn't made that much progress, which prompted Lina to remark "Hey, they can't have been here long." Naga nodded. "Good." she said, "The less they have done the easier it should be to stop them. How do you want to do this?" Lina thought a moment then looked at Naga. She nodded. It was like the old days.

"What's the plan you two?" interjected Amilia. "A few big fire balls should scatter the workers, but the real trick is to make them run into a group so they can be Dragon Slaved." replied Lina. "We should start by driving them back from the cliff face." said Naga. Then with some well placed fireballs we can drive them into a group in the plain." Sylphiel looked over the plain, shielding her eyes with her hand. "They have a camp maybe two miles out." she said. "Make them run and they will likely run for that, then spring the trap." She slumped. Lina patted her shoulder. "Planning to hurt, possibly kill, people is not easy, and never fun Sylphiel. Still, unless you have a last minute bright idea, we have no choice. Sylphiel nodded, her eyes wet with a tear or two. She had come to help and help she would, but this was not what she had learned to do, nor did it sit well on her gentle soul.

"I have an idea, Lina." said Amilia. "What's that?" the redhaird mage asked. "It's dangerous but it might work. You know what happens when two fireballs intercept?" "Yea, a really big bang, and, I mean... big..., Oh I get it. Throw some together at the base of the cliff and hope we don't bring the mountain down with the explosions." "Yup." said Amilia. "You and I can do it while Levitating, and Gracia and Miss Sylphiel can get away to safety. Then hopefully we can use fireballs to start the stampede. Then, while those down below are doing that you get ready and go Dragon Slave them!" "Would work." said Naga. "Good idea." said Lina. "Let's do it." "Take care you two." said Naga. She and Sylphiel took the horses and rode back maybe a quarter of a mile. Lina and Amilia looked at each other as they settled their minds for the task. When they were ready a simple nod from each of them was all the signal they needed. They both chanted silently then simultaneously called out "Levitation!"

Rising into the air they flew off the cliff top, taking positions that would let each of them hear the other so they could co-ordinate the firing of the fireballs, and so they could both aim at the same point. It was a well known fact that the one thing you never did was block a fireball with a fireball, they joined up and released an explosion many times more powerful than either fireball alone could have produced. The girls exchanged a few words and some finger points and quickly agreed upon six targets. The fireball had one draw back, it was slow in flight, so the sorceresses planned to take advantage of that fact by sending a spread of fireballs flying while they could see the targets. Finally they were ready. They chanted and then began launching the angry fire red spheres at the base of the cliff. "Fire Ball!" the screamed in unison, six times, and six times the magical spells were concentrated in their hands then cast forth. They watched for a few seconds as the flaming spheres sped on their way.

The first two just missed each other and exploded with normal force, but even so, they scattered the workers and brought work to a halt instantly. The next two met and a hugh explosion send men and dirt flying. So did the third pair, and the fourth, the fifth pair were near misses, and the sixth pair gave one more massive blast. When the dust settled it was evident that many men had been injured or killed, and some of the digging was undone. The workers were confusedly running around but it was clear from the air that the officers were quickly restoring order. "Lina!" said Amilia. "Fire balls will be too slow, let's go to Flare Arrows!" "Yes." agreed Lina. The two girls dove down and began targeting what ever they could with the more accurate, and much faster Flare Arrow spell. The only problem with the spell was that the explosion was, compared to the fireball, much weaker. Still, this didn't mean you wanted to get hit by one. Like avenging harpies the two mages swooped back and forth sending blast after multiple blast of arrow shaped fire energy into the scurrying ranks below. Where they could they targeted officers or any one who seemed in control. In a few minutes they had the mass of men scattered. Then the enemy started returning fire.

A squadron of magical soldiers formed ranks and started hurtling Flare Arrows back at the two girls in massed volleys. Soon the two friends were twisting and turning and yelling as they tried to avoid the fate they had just been trying to inflict on their adversaries. "Where the hell did they come from?" yelled Lina to Amilia. "We were sloppy Lina, we forgot they might have the way to fight back! We have to get out of here!" Yes!" shouted Lina. The girls began to rise. Suddenly there was a bang, followed by a scream as Amilia became the victim of a direct hit! "AMILIA!" screamed Lina as she swooped back down. She managed to catch her friend just in time, but it was obvious she was hurt. Lina cast every protective spell she could think of as she rose up the cliff face holding the smaller girl in her arms. And good thing too, being a slower target now she started to get many more accurate hits rattling off of her shields. She did't want to think of what would happen if the sheilds failed now that they were some three or four hundred feet up. After an eternity, with accurate Flare Arrows hitting her all the way up, she finally reached the crest.

Naga and Sylphiel were there to help. They had come back forward when the explosions were over to see how things went, and had seen the near victory get turned into a rout. Lina landed, exhausted, and gently laid the stunned Amilia down for Sylphiel to work on. Unfortunately, seeing her sister look like she was dead was too much for Naga, and just when she should have stayed calm she had a flash back to her mother's death, and, in simple terms, she freaked out. "NO, NO! NOT HER! NOT MY SISTER!" she shrieked to the heavens. Lina tried to calm her down as Sylphiel cast her healing magic on Amilia, but Naga ran off. Lina tried to follow, but she was too tired to run as fast as she usually could. Naga reached the cliff face and started hurtling curses down at the men below. "Naga! Get away before they..." Lina started to yell when a sudden explosion cut her off and rocked her off her feet.

A large blast had hit the cliff face, aimed at Naga. It had fallen short, which was fortunate, and somehow Naga had stayed on her feet. But she was laughing now, not her usual signature laugh, but a truly insane laugh that froze Lina to her marrow and made her wish deperately to hear her friend laugh her usual laugh, at least then she'd know everything was alright. "Naga!" she yelled. "Amilia's okay! Stop this!" But the wild Queen didn't hear her. Lina ran up to try and pull her friend back from the cliff. She seemed to be muttering under her breath. Just as Lina got to her Naga yelled in a commanding voice "MEGA VU VRAIMER!" "Naga! You can't use magic yet! It's too soon..." Lina started to argue, when a large "CRACK" startled her. Looking down, her ruby eyes as big as saucers, she saw the biggest golem she had ever seen in her life suddenly break free from the cliff!

Ignoring Lina, Naga laughed insanely again and shouted "You murderers! We did nothing to you and yet you have come to kill and enslave us! To take our lands and our peace! You have almost killed my sister! You have separated me from my baby and my people! My husband and my father are in mortal danger trying to stop you. And so are many other brave men! You won't succeed! DO YOU HEAR ME! MY GOLEM! KILL!" The stone monster suddenly came to life and started tearing hugh blocks of rock from the cliff face as if it were ripping fresh bread apart. Lina was speechless in amazement as the golem tossed massive blocks of stone at the men before it, crushing many. The archers tried throwing volleys of Flare Arrows and some fireballs at the golem but it was impervious to attack. Naga screamed out a crazy laugh and yelled down "Yes my creation! That's it! Kill them all!"

Lina grabbed at Naga, calling on her to stop, but Naga, in a burst of insane strength picked Lina up with one arm and tossed her friend away from her. Lina hit the ground hard and had to catch her breath. As soon as she got it back she screamed for Sylphiel to come and help her. Sylphiel had just finished healing Amilia when Lina's scream for aid hit her ears. She looked up, startled, then took off in a rapid sprint. Naga gave a yell of triumph and turned to Lina, yelling happily "I've done it Lina! I drove them off. I did it!" She laughed some more. Then, as she did so, even as Sylphiel was arriving, it happened.

No one understands what the link is, but all female magic users know it exists. There is something about a womans womb that has control over her magical abilities. That's why she can't use magic very well during "that time of the month". And that's why she loses it altogether for anywhere from six months to a year after giving birth. But the problem is, if a woman is under such emotional stress, as Naga was, that she in effect becomes insane, temporarily or otherwise, it is sometimes possible to overcome the blocking effect of the womb and tap into magic when the body isn't ready. Naga was doing this now. And it is the law of nature that when you do things wrongly, there is always a price to pay.

Deep in her body, Naga's womb burst from the strain. One minute she was laughing at Lina insanely, then suddenly a glazed look came over her, just for a second, then pain, pain like a red hot iron poker being thrust into her body seared through the Queen. She gave a sceam like she had been mortally wounded. In fact, she was. There was an unbelievable gush of blood from between her legs, and she collapsed, unconcious, and very, very pale, struggling to breath as the life's blood gushed out of her. Lina and Sylphiel screamed in shock. "NAGA!" screamed Lina, trying to will her friend back from the brink. Then she yelled in desperation "SYLPHIEL!"

A shaken Sylphiel responded "Let me concentrate Lina, she needs the healing of the Resurection spell, NOW!" Lina clamped her jaw shut, tears blinding her. Then, after a few seconds that seemed an eternity long, Sylphiel began to chant the spell. Lina couldn't take it and got up, and walked over to the cliff and looked out. She turned back after a few seconds, and saw the welcome sight of her beloved friend bathed in a soft, holy white light. Her breathing was easier, and her colour was improving. "Thank you, Miss Sylphiel..." said Lina gently, tears of gratitude in her eyes.

Sylphiel was a bit startled to hear Lina use the term Miss, but realised quickly that the redheaded girl was trying to thank her. She smiled and said "It was her emotional state you see, she got so worked up she somehow jumped over the normal healing process that happens after a baby and started drawing magic whan she wasn't ready. But it's okay now, I was here in time, heck, she's healing so well she will even have more children. As long as she doesn't do it again."

"She did some good." said Lina softly. "Even though the golem is now a pile of rubble it managed to drive off the workers before it collapsed. It did what Amilia and I couldn't do, they are now running to the camp. Sylphiel, look out for these women, I have to go Dragon Slave an army." "Wait Lina." said Sylphiel softly, rising to her feet. Lina looked up at her taller friend, puzzled. "I can help you too." the shrine maiden said. "I know a little used spell, a secret spell, one we don't talk about. It transferes power from one magic user to another. I will give you what I can now. It will help you cast a bigger Dragon Slave." she said quietly. "Hey?" said Lina, wonderingly.

"Listen," said Sylphiel a little hesitantly. "There are two things you need to know. First, to do the transfer we have to hold hands and kiss." "Huh, well, as long as you don't get the wrong idea..." said Lina, now a bit nervous herself. Sylphiel went on "When we kiss, the power will flow from me to you. While this happens our spirits will merge into one for a brief time. Everything I know you will know, and everything you know I will know. Most of it will get pulled back inside it's rightful owner when we stop, but some memories usually remain. Just be prepared, you may know things about me you never knew before, and I, you. Now you know why it's a secret."

Lina looked startled, then said "Somehow that figures. Okay, I will do this, there are a lot of men down there, and I need to make a big impression on them, and their magicians. I will hold your memories as sacred trusts. Let us begin, I don't have much time." Under Sylphiel's guidance they interlocked fingers and held their hands out like they were imitating crosses. Then Sylphiel silently muttered the spell, and, leaning forward, gently kissed Lina. There was a shock, then a floating sensation, then, for a few seconds there was, in a sense, only one person on the edge of the cliff as the two became as one and the power flowed. Then it was over, and the girls stopped the kiss.

Lina staggered back, she felt almost ready to burst from the energy. Sylphiel sank to her knees, exhausted and weeping. "What's wrong?" asked Lina. Sylphiel reaised her eyes to Lina, the pain in them evident. "I knew you loved him Lina, I just didn't realise how much. But now I've felt it. I am shattered." Lina shook her head and said "Rest now Sylphiel. You are tired. I've got to go, or what ever I feel will matter to no one." She turned to go, then turned back and said "I'm sorry Sylphiel, but I need him too..." With that the petitie fireball of a sorceress gathered herself for the task at hand. With a Ray-Wing, she was off!

Lina wasn't sure what to do at first, but as she flew a desperate plan formed in her mind. As she looked down she could see how large the engineering core really was. She roughly estimated the camp below her was about half the size of the one she saw at Westhold five mornings ago, and might hold as much as one hundred thousand men. Probably warrior engineers. She finally decided on her plan, and went for altitude. She climbed and climbed. She needed to get high up so she would have time to do what she had to.

She finally stopped at about two miles high. It was getting a little hard to breath and Lina had never been so high in her life except the time they had chased Darkstar on Filia's golden back. The world was unbelieveably different up here. And cold too, colder than Lina had expected. Still, she wouldn't be long. She turned off her magic, one by one. She wanted all her power free to go into the Dragon Slave. She even turned off magical wards that had been protecting her from childhood. She had had them on so long that she felt naked without them, but they took power, and she wanted all she could get. Finally, she turned off the Ray-Wing itself. And began to fall.

It took a few precious seconds to learn how to be stable in free fall, but she managed it. And the feeling of weightlessness was strange too, but not altogether unpleasant. Now she was falling straight down and in control. Time to start. First thing, the power amplifiers she had bought from the Trickster Priest of the Mazoku, none other than Xellos.

"Lord of Darkness of the four worlds, grant me all the power that you posess!"

she chanted. The familiar tingle told her the magical jewels had re energised and she felt a sudden rush as the power of magic flowed through her, energizing her. Now for the big one.

She reached way down deep inside herself and grabbed all the power she had, including the power Sylphiel had just filled her with. Bringing it to the fore she added all her emotional energy too, her hatred and her fear, and even her love. Nothing was left back. When it was ready she closed her eyes and began channeling it into her spell, and as she did so, she chanted her trademark chant.

"Thou who art darker than Twilight!  
Thou who art more Crimson than flowing blood!  
Thou who art buried in passing time itself!  
In thy name, Oh great one, I pledge myself to darkness!  
Grant into my unworthy hand thy great power,  
So that together, Thou and I may destroy the fools that stand before us."

Her eyes snapped open. The ground was getting very close now, it was now or never. Holding her hands back, the palms facing each other about a foot apart, she screamed out the name of her dread spell, letting the energy form into a castable ball between her hands. As she screamed all her energy, all her hate, her fear, her hopes, her love, everything, was channeled into the sphere. She had cast this spell many times before, but never had she cast one with so much power. She had only cast a spell twice before that had surpassed this one in power, and that was now safely sealed, she hoped.

"DRAGON..."

The sphere became a painful white glare, and her hands burned from the heat of the energy between them, a testament to how much power she had poured into this particular casting.

"SLAVE!"

Lina screamed the last word out as she threw the ball with all her might straight for the center of the encampment. A strange peace suddenly filled her as the ball flew off taking her emotional energy with it. She felt light headed, and began to tumble. Fortunately, that brought her out of the little faint and she snapped awake. "Not yet, Lina!" she said to herself. "First get to safety!" With that she snapped the Ray-Wing back on and with a roll halted her vertical plummet by turning it into a horizontal rush for the cliff face.

She had only seconds now she knew, to put as much distance between her and the decending spell, before it exploded. Timing it right, she looked back, and saw the sky suddenly flash a pinky white and watched as a large ball of pink energy suddenly grew into the sky above the plain. She gulped. Down below many thousands of men had just perished. She looked forward again and snapped a Balus Wall behind herself as a protection from the oncoming blast wave. Still she hoped to be at the cliff before it hit. And the cliff was rapidly approaching. A few seconds later Lina braked hard and slowed to a bit of a forced landing in front of the three girls. "VICTORY!" she wheezed. The girls just stared. "Huh?" she asked, not sure what was going on. "Is something wrong guys?" she asked, panting and breathless after expending a lot of energy. Amilia just pointed back at where Lina had come from. "Yeah, well, that was the biggest Dragon Slave I ever cast in my life..." That was as far as she got when Sylphiel reached out, grabbed her head, and turned her around to see...

Some sort of a magical black field, looking for all the world like a bag, was working it's way around the magical fireball. As Lina watched in stunned silence, it climbed to the top, and sealed the Dragon Slave inside. "That's impossible!" panted Lina in horrified awe. "It's happening..." said Naga, no less horrified than Lina was. As they watched the bag collapsed into a tiny dot, then rapidly lengthened into a long tube. It hesitated a few seconds, then rotated until...

IT POINTED STRAIGHT AT THEM!

"NO!" screamed Lina despite her shortness of breath. "They've collapsed the Dragon Slave, and now they're going to shoot it at us!" "What do we do?" asked Naga, sounding helpless. Amilia suddenly showed her quality to be a leader in a pinch. "Grab the horses so they don't run." she commanded her sister. Naga didn't even hesitate, she took the reins and held the horses close. Of course it helped that she had a way with animals... "Miss Sylphiel, I know you gave most of your power to Lina, but I could use any boost you have left." Amilia went on. Sylphiel nodded and cast the spell "Recovery" on the Princess. She then went back to help with the horses, looking, and feeling tired. "Lina, brace me. I know you are tired and your pink hair reveals you used a lot of power in that shot, so don't worry about the magic, just brace me." Lina did so. "My hair is pink?" she said, a bit puzzled.

That was all the time she had to wonder for suddenly there was a white flash in the sky, and the black tube vanished, revealing a rapidly expanding pink dot rushing up to the girls. Amilia held her hands up and raised a Balus Wall to protect the group. "Lina, if you believe in that unknown god, this would be a real good time to pray..." she said, sounding scared. A second later, her fears were realised as the Dragon Slave hit them and blasted the cliff top.

Lina screamed. So did everyone else, including the horses. Amilia screamed too, but she still kept the wall up, pouring every last ounce of energy she had into the shield. Many seconds later the blast settled down, having scoured the top of the cliff clean for many hundreds of feet, except for a small patch that had been under the shield Amilia had raised. "No crater?" she said in an exhausted voice, then fainted into Lina's arms. Lina let her down gently, then collapsed on the ground beside her. She noticed Amilia's hair was more grey than black. She took a lock of her own hair, sure enough, it was pink. She lay there for several seconds just resting, then looked over to Naga who sat there, a picture of total misery and abject failure. "We've lost..." she whispered to Lina.

Lina sat up and looked at her friend. "We have, haven't we?" She was quiet for a minute. "Well, I guess we better go and think up what to do next." "It's too late." said Naga again, still gloomy. "They are doing something out on the plain. I can see magical sparks and lights swirling around and concentrating. We can leave, but I doubt we'll get far enough away. Besides, the horses ran off after the Balus Wall came down and I couldn't hold them. Sylphiel ran after them, but I'm too sore, owing to the fact I'm still healing after my stupidity of a few minutes ago, to be able to move fast. We won't outwalk what ever they are up to, it looks big.

Lina turned around. Sure enough, something magical was stirring out there. "Their wizards have different spells than we are used to, I think..." she said. Amilia sat up. "I can do another wall I think, if I can get a few minutes to recover." "I don't think we have that long." said Lina sadly. Amilia just hung her head, and Lina hugged her. Naga shuffled over and hugged them both. They reached back and soon a group hug was in progress. On the plain the magic was building, it would be over very soon. "Gourry..." whispered Lina. "Zelgadiss..." replied Amilia. "Arthur and Alfred." put in Naga. If they were about to die, their last words were going to be the people they loved the most.

A lone figure stood on a rocky outcrop a little higher on the mountain. She had run after the horses, like Naga said, only to realise something big was happening. She had precious little energy left, but used some of it to fly onto a rock ledge a quarter mile away. Sylphiel could see the swirling magic in the air. If it was collected and fired, it would be all over. Her heart trembled inside of her. Lina was out of the fight, she had used all her strength in a one shot effort that failed, even with Sylphiel's help. Amilia had used most of her energy fighting the Dragon Slave when it was shot back at them. Naga had no power, and was weak from her emotional outburst with it's aftermath. And Sylphiel had weakened herself giving power up to Lina after having to heal the Queen. The situation seemed hopless.

But that is not why Syphiel trembled and quailed with black fear. No, she was afraid, because she knew she had in her grasp one last spell. If she could fire it perfectly, they would win, if she failed, they would be utterly ruined. Of course, it did not help that Lina thought she had sealed the spell away a few years ago, as if any human could seal something so perfectly that no other human could unseal it if they were strong enough. Or desperate enough. But she was no Lina and she knew it. "How? How do I do it?" she wailed to the wind. It was time, she had to act now or it was too late. "Help me somebody! Anybody! I'll give you anything I have to give, do whatever you want if it is in my power to do it! I don't mind dieing myself, but I don't want us all to die!" With that she broke into loud, wild, sobs of anguish. Her own life, she didn't care about it, but the life of all she loved, all the innocent, no, this had to stop now. But how? Then, in the midst of her weeping came a voice, gentle and soothing, friendly and warm. "Dear lady, I will help you..." Sylphiel's tears froze within her as she went from the blackness of despair to the void of hopelessness. For she had caught the thin undertone of menace in the sweet voice. Whatever was behind her, and she had not the courage to turn and look at it, was evil...

She said in a small, still voice "I will give you anything I can, do anything you want, if you will save us." she offered in desperation. "Yes, you will." said the voice in a soothing tone, as if simply repeating a fact. Suddenly a red crystal floated in the air infront of the white sorceress. "Take the stone, fair lady." said the voice. Sylphiel did so and looked at it. It was a ruby. "This stone will serve as the focus for your spell." the creature said. "Using it will break Lina's seal and let you cast the spell. Now, don't be afraid of what will happen next. I will reach inside and still your fearful heart, by which I mean the emotional one that is the source of your feelings, not the physical one that provides life to your body. When that happens you will have the utter calmness and stillness needed to cast the spell."

"You can only have me if it works." said Sylphiel, feeling strangely calmer already. "I will do my part, said the voice, "and if you do yours it will work. If you don't, well, I won't need you." "I want to know it has worked before you take over." she said again, in a calm, quiet voice. "Of course, that is only fair that you know the bargain has been fulfilled." said the voice. "So, let us begin, you only have seconds to go." With that, Sylphiel had a sudden sickening hot/cold, undescribable shock as the being slipped some sort of power into her, maybe it was a hand of some sort. It surrounded her emotional heart, and suddenly it closed. Sylphiel gave a little gasp, and then, dead calm. No emotion. All she had to do was concentrate. Afterwards, a lifetime, eternity perhaps, of fear and possibly pain, but what of it, the world would live. She took a deep breath and brought her hands up. The ruby crystal, as if it had a mind of its own, suspended itself between her palms, which were facing each other. One second to pull herself together and fully focus. Then, like Lina before her, she began to chant.

"Thou who art darkness beyond blackness itself.  
Thou who art deeper than the void.  
Lord of all darkness, thou shinest like gold upon the sea of Chaos!  
Dread Soverign, I call upon thee and pledge myself to thee.  
I pray you, grant that the fools who stand before us be destroyed,  
By the power that thou and I possess."

As she finished the chant the crystal suddenly burst into dust and a point of energy, glowing brilliant white, was floating in it's place. It was too bright to look at. Sylphiel cocked her hand back ready to throw. It was now or never, do or die. Bur having started on this course she had already made up her mind. Without hesitation, pausing only long enough to be sure of her aim, she screamed the last words of the spell and hurtled the dread energy at the spike of power growing rapidly on the plain below.

"GIGA SLAVE!"

As she hurtled the spell, a tremendous surge of energy coursed through her. She had drained herself of her very life essence with that spell. Indeed, she felt some power leave from the evil spirit and join hers, which perhaps was good, she was so weak she might have died from the energy drain otherwise. As her own energy slipped away, the monster slipped in. Soon she was totally emeshed in his evil, fully posessed, except for her eyes. True to his word, the horror was going to let her see the result of her effort. But she no longer had her mouth, and she needed to scream.

The white dot glowed so brilliantly that it could be tracked far out into the plain as it sped towards the target. Lina didn't know why, but she felt she had to look up as it passed. She saw the spike of energy which was about to destroy them, and despaired. Then a movement caught her eye and she turnesd to see what looked like a glowing star rush with fantastic speed, TOWARDS THE ENEMY! "What?" she said standing up. "Someone else is using magic too?" "So they are..." replied Amilia as she and Naga also stood.

Suddenly the resignation of death was replaced by hope in the breasts of the three women, and with that adrenaline suddenly coursed through their veins, releaseing the last dregs of their energy reserves. Amilia and Lina stepped between Naga and the enemy. They clasped each others shoulders and somehow energy flowed between them. Raising their free hands they chanted and once more raised a Balus wall. And just in time too. Lina had know the Balus wall was designed to protect against fire attacks. She thought of it in terms of heat and perhaps the blast wave of a Dragon Slave. Now she learned that it would protect against even the light if it got too bright. Because it did. Just as the magical shield came up it turned black. Lina had at most a half second to wonder about that when the glowing star touched the top of the spike, now easily a quarter mile into the sky. Sylphiel too had her vision grow dark as the unwelcome being made sure she would see everything that happened as many thousands of men suddenly passed into eternity. By her hand.

The star touched the spike. In one second it expanded from a star to a sphere many hundred feet across. All who saw it realised that without their shields they would have been blinded for life, as the sheer intensity of the light would have melted their eyes in their sockets. They realised too, that where the camp was, down on the plain below the glowing sphere, the temperature had to be so great that what ever was there was instantly vapourised. Indeed, as they would learn later, the rocks and sand had fused to glass. All this in one second, and of course, a shock wave without equal spread out from the blast in all directions.

The part of it that went down hit the earth, crushed and flattened anything not melted or vapourised already and bounced back. In another half second it had returned and crushed the bottom of the glowing ball of energy, bouncing it up into the air, where it rose like an evil thing into the heights, well passed even the two miles Lina had made with her Ray-Wing. As it did so it sucked debris and dust from the ground and in a matter of a few more seconds a hot, glowing cloud rose up to meet the sphere. Mercifully, after about five seconds the energy began to dissipate enough that things could cool. The bright cloud turned gold, then red, and finally black, and the whole effect was one of anger and death. The Balus wall cleared as the girls struggled to hold it, and their hearts quailed in fear as they beheld a mighty, and absolutely evil cloud rise up before them.

By now seven seconds had passed. The shockwave, coming in like a stampeding herd of, of, well, death perhaps, was now about two seconds away. Naga suddenly braced the two smaller women, and they all instinctively reached into their spirits to scream out a shout designed to bring their last reserves to the front, to strengthen the wall. Then it hit. It was like being slammed into a mountain at full speed, only more so. A vast moving wall of compressed air hit the sorceresses full on, knocking them back many feet, but miraculously, they stayed standing, while all around them the few trees, bushes, and even rocks, that had survived the Dragon Slave a few minutes ago were knocked over, up rooted, and tossed with deadly energy. Then, the shock wave was passed, leaving a partial vacume in it's wake. For half a second. Air rushed back in through rents and tears in the shock wave and a second, only slightly less powerful shock hit the women from behind shoving them forward again. It almost looked like they might fall off the cliff face, but luckily they stopped with a fair amount of room to spare. It was over. Except for the screams of terror, and the persistent, low, evil rumble of death from the plain where a vast mushroom shaped cloud now reached high into the air. The three friends turned and ran from the horror, gasping and panting for air. Soon of course, they had to slow down and walk but they could not look back, and they wished they could shut their ears against the rumble. Lina turned her head suddenly as they passed a rocky out crop.

"Sylphiel!" she called as she rushed to where the dark haired girl was lying face down on the ground. The other two joined her and soon had her sitting up, resting on the rock. Lina was amazed at how her eyes looked so, well, dead, but assumed she had been caught altogether by surprise by the explosion and had had no protection, except the rock wall, with which to shelter from the blast. "Sylphiel?" Lina asked. "Are you alright? Do you know who tossed that spell at the enemy? Was it you?" The taller girl just looked at Lina with her dead eyes, her face a horror of blankness.

"What was the spell?" asked Naga in wonder. "Can you see, Miss Sylphiel?" asked Amilia. Sylphiel finally responded by turning her eyes on Amilia and seeming to focus. "Not well" she whispered. "Oh gods and mazoku you are hurt!" said Lina. "I can't give you back the healing you gave me," said a concerned Naga, "but I can carry you away from here to some place more comfortable." It took a bit, but Sylphiel was finally loaded on Naga's back, and, with Lina and Amilia helping, they made slow but steady progress away from the cliff. After a bit they were out of the range of the total destruction of the shockwave, and they actually found a green space beside a stream to set down and rest. They drank water, thankful that it was there and cried for joy when a bird began to sing again, after so much fear and death, life again.

Sylphiel had settled into a restless sleep, as if she suffered an agony of the soul. The others, exhausted, also slept. In the middle of the night Naga awoke, startled by a sound. She got up and her motion awoke Lina who was finding herself tuning in to her old friend again. It was almost like old times in fact. "What's up?" she asked, worried that in their sleep an enemy had found them. "Shh, it's okay." relied Naga quietly. She dissappeared into the night, only to return a half a minute later, leading the horses! "The poor things, it is in their nature to flee from terror, they couldn't help themselves. But look, they came back to us! And they have their packs and saddles! We will live my dears! Ha, ha, ha, oh yes, we will live!" Amilia was awake now too and the girls praised and petted the horses, then quickly staked them out and removed their packs. It took a bit in the dark, but soon enough firewood was found, lit, and a late supper was cooked under the stars and the girls began to cheer up again after the death of a few hours ago. Even Sylphiel was persuaded to take some tea and seemed a bit more at ease afterwards as she settled back to sleep. Tucked under blankets, and with the horses to stand watch, the four women settled in and slept like there was no tommorrow. 


	18. rChapter17

Chapter 17 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke the next day feeling much better. She checked. Yup, her hair was red again! She looked around. Someone had set food beside her. Sylphiel was asleep still. She looked ill and Lina was concerned, the poor woman must have taken a real hurt, perhaps one deep in her body. Oh what to do? Lina would not forgive herself if the Shrine Maiden died. Amilia was busy packing up the four horses. Lina stood up and looked around. "Morning Amilia!" she said. "Early afternoon you mean, sleepy." came the cheery reply. Lina's reply was a simple "Oh." "Don't worry, it's just past the noon hour, I left you some lunch if you are hungry. In fact Lina was busy inhaling it as Amilia spoke. "How's everything?" she asked between mouthfuls.

Amilia replied "I have given Sylphiel a "Recovery" but it only seems to hold things, not heal them. I am not strong enough for a Resurection yet, so I hope she can hold out for a day or two till I can. I'm fine, I'm packing to go, which we will do as soon as Gracia returns from looking at the cliff so she can give a true report to the King. I didn't want to see it, and I don't think she did either." Lina looked to the east. "I think I see her coming now. I agree with you, it was so horrible. I don't want to see it either. But I would like to know what the spell was, and who cast it." "We may find out yet Lina." replied Amilia. Lina finished the too, too inadequate food, and went to help her friend pack. "Well, I see your hair is black again and mine is red." she said as she tightened a cinch strap. "Well, that's good, he, he." giggled Amilia. "Wouldn't want Zel to think I was an old woman now would I?" "Oh, I don't think he'd ever make that mistake Amilia." said Lina with a smile.

She then said, in a more somber tone of voice, "I wonder how they made out?" They exchanged worried glances. "Only one way to find out." said Naga who had ridden up in the mean time. "Mount up and let's go see." "Speaking of seeing..." said Lina tentatively. "The ground looks like it was scraped with a razor, there is a small funny looking depression where the ground was right under the explosion, and it looks dead. It is horrible, but it is more like a grave site than anything else. Well, when I can I shall have my golems dig out the area, pile the soft rock on the horrible spot as a marker of sorts, and then I will fill it in with granite, and no one will dig it out." Lina nodded. "I will help, when the time comes. But for now, help me get Sylphiel mounted."

The girl proved too ill to sit on a horse, and the friends despaired of what to do until Amilia remembered something she had read in a book. Quickly the girls found two long sturdy poles in the debris of the explosions from yesterday, and some shorter sturdy poles as well. These were lashed together in a rough triangle with the thick ends of the long poles sticking out the end, and the top not closed together so it would fit on either side of a horse. They rolled Sylphiel on to the make shift travois and were able to lift it and tie it to the back of the horse. They mounted their own animals, and taking the reins of Sylphiels horse they set off slowly. They had to make an adjustment to the rig to let it drag properly, but it wasn't hard to do and soon they were walking back towards the west, and home. Unlike the journey out, they seemed eager to talk, about anything but what had just happened. Perhaps too eager. Perhaps to keep their minds off the events of the last day. But it still haunted their dreams at night, and they didn't rest well. After a day or two, Sylphiel stated to talk a bit and eat a bit, then declared she felt better and was even able to sit in her saddle again. At that the Travois was carefully tied behind the pack horse, against the possibility of future need, and they rode on.

Naga kept looking south, especially as they neared Stronghold. She was looking for the army. And one day, she spotted it. They were half a day away from the keep when it became obvious there was a cloud on the horison and something moving beneath it, but they couldn't tell who it was. "I hope, I hope..." she said. then she turned to the others and asked. "Can anyone Ray-Wing yet?" "No" was the reply. Lina asked "What is it?" "I hope it is our army, I fear it is the others, of course." she replied. "Lina looked worried. "What do we do?" "We make for the hall!" Naga said. "If it is them we can be there to greet them properly. If it is..., the others, well, I would rather no one but me has the responsibility of stopping Arthur from falling into their hands." "What do you mean?" asked Lina in a horrified tone, though she felt she knew the answer. "I mean" said Naga quietly, but with a deadly determination that Lina found frightening, "that I will put my baby to my breast, then I will fall on a sword so that the same blade sends us both to the next world as it pierces our hearts, rather than let him be taken by... them. And you girls too had better think about this, for, since daddy rode up with the west behind him, there has been no option of flight. Die, or be enslaved as you see fit, but I will go taking my baby with me." Suddenly Naga wailed to the heavens "OH! Please, let it be our men!" The girls spurred their horses on, now totally wrapped in fear. Lina was horrified by Naga's words the whole trip, yet, what else could Naga do? She hadn't realised being a Queen could be so hard. But Lina had heard the rumours, about how high rank officials were likely to be tortured for sport. And what would they do to the baby who was heir to the throne of their hated enemies?

The girls made good time, so did the army behind them. The Queen was heralded through the gate with at most an hour or two to spare before the army arrived. She called for a bath and a change of clothing, she was going to be ready before she met either the army or her son. Or eternity. In very short order the washing was done, no leisurely soak this, and she was changed into a spotless white gown that made her look absolutely beautiful. Even Lina's breath was taken. Ominously though, the Blade of Heaven hung at her side. Cymbelene appeared and brought Arthur. Naga's first act was to feed her child. She had managed to keep her milk going in the ten days they had been away, and now she meant to put it to good use, even if it was a last meal. Arthur seemed to realise his mother was back and settled down to business right away. Lina, facinated by this ritual had to turn away in the end. She looked out a window and thought of Gourry. If only fate, or the unknown god would be kind. She too wanted what Naga had, a life, and a family of her own. But there was nothing to do but wait. Amilia came and stood beside her. The friends looked out the window together. "The waiting is the hardest." said Amilia, not expecting an answer. Lina just reached out and took her hand.

The seconds were hours, and the minutes were days. But their patience was rewarded as a loud shout and peal of trumpets broke out at the gate and the doors flew open to admit a rider who was yelling at the top of his lung "VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" The three women screamed in relief and flew into the hall. The messenger ran in and straight to Queen Gracia where, falling on his knee, he said "Victory Your Majesty! His Highness the King is returned, in victory!" Naga broke out weeping with relief and joy and it was the head servants who took charge to order things for the arrival. And not a minute too soon. The army marched up in but a few more minutes and stopped to pitch camp. The nobles clattered in and entered the hall where they were greeted by the cheers of the people. King Alfred entered, with Prince Phillionel at his side. They looked disheveled but absolutely happy. Naga launched herself into Alfreds arms and was caught and met with a kiss that lasted for a time too long to count. Amilia was hugging her daddy and dancing up and down. Zelgadiss entered, making like a human crutch for an injured Zangulas, but both were grinning from ear to ear. Lina hugged them both. Tears flowed like rivers from all eyes, servant and royalty, warrior and maid. And for a long time all was a pandemonium of joy, such as the old hall might never have seen in it's whole long existance.

Prince Erik showed up a bit later, helping some of the wounded, like a good doctor should do. He looked around hopefully, and seemed a bit dissapointed. Lina went to him and told him in simple terms what happened. He looked sad and promised to look in on her when he could. But his brother had overheard this and said to him "Erik, the wounded are fine in the care of your assistants. Go to her now. Consider it a Royal command!" Erik looked perplexed, but happy enough to obey that command and went to find Sylphiel and see if he could treat her. Finally, food and drink began to appear and a victory party started.

As it went on various people slipped out to change and disarm themselves, and soon the hall looked less like a living armoury and more like it was ment to, a happy place where people met to celebrate life. Lina was at the head table, she wasn't missing that for the world. Naga, her fears over, just beamed happiness. Even her laughter had such a note of joy in it that it was pleasant to listen to, for once... Amilia was latched on to Zel, and for tonight she didn't care what anyone thought. He didn't seem to mind in the least. Her father didn't seem to mind in the least either. He insisted he hold his grandson as much as possible so as to free Naga up to be with her husband. He actually had to argue with her as she pointed out she had only gotten back herself and wanted to spend time with her son too, but in the end it was agreed the Prince would sit right beside his daughter, holding his grandson, the other Prince, right next to his mother. Alfred sat on the Queen's other side, obviously this wasn't a formal supper.

At first the talk flowed around how happy they were to be all together again. Then the girls were prevailed upon to tell their story. There was silence at the end of the tale, and a few glances were exchanged between the men. Then it was their turn to tell their account. "Well," said the King, "after that tale of life on the razor's edge I don't know if our tale of utter desperation and eventual success can quite come up to the same level, but, here is what we were up to. Well, of course it starts off with our riding off to the front. With reluctance but with neccessity we pushed ourselves and did in three and a half days what might have taken us five. Thankfully we arrived ahead of the enemy,and had a time to rest. Then we put our plan into action. As you no doubt observed we have a lot of cavalry, and there were actually too many men to man the walls all at once. So, a long argued plan was put into action. The wall, as you know has no gate, still, the possibility of having to get men and horses over it was thought of, and a series of ramps were set up on both sides. We were able to move most of the horse divisions over onto the plain below. The ramps were removed and the defences secured. Your father and Lord Zelgadis, along with King Zangulas here took on the command of the wall, while I and many of the others went with the horse. We had to go carefully, the enemy could not see us for the plan to work. Our spies were out and back with as much stealth as humanly possible. The enemy was a day's march off, apparently resting for the assault, as we thought they would. The news the scouts gave us was not encouraging, they reported horde upon horde of men, still, they were giving educated guesses that the enemy was more in the range of six hundred thousands of men rather than the one million. It sounds from your tale that they must have sent one hundred thousand or so to the wall to dig, in order to have a viable force to sweep in behind us. Thankfully that menace was ably destroyed by you wonderful ladies."

"No," interjected Lina. "we may have helped, but whoever threw that unknown spell was the real hero. But it was a horror to see that final blast. I can only assume it was a new variant on the Dragon Slave, there are several forms of it after all. I wish I could meet the caster and ask him what he did. But we found no one, but ourselves." "Interesting." said the King, meaning it. He resumed the tale. "We were able to sneak out to the south onto the plain below the enemy and eventually behind him. The plan was simple, as most desperate plans were. We would let the enemy attack the wall, then when he was fully engaged we would descend like a hammer stroke and use the wall as our anvil. To be honest, I was sure the cavaly would be overwhelmed in the end, but if we could reduce their numbers to the point where they could not succeed at the wall we would not have been sacrificed in vain." At this Naga grabbed the King in a fierce hug as the realiseation of what might have been caused her to shudder in fear. "Yes, that's about how I felt too," he said softly, "but what could I do? We had to destroy their numbers, and destroy their siege weapons, and there was no other way but by a surprise assault. So, we rode far out onto the plain and circled behind them, movong warily as we came up to them. Of course, they had moved on when we crossed where they had camped, and it was awsome to see how big the mark was of where it had been. So, with fear in our hearts, and the desperate desire to spare our loved ones the horror we had seen, we went on, and in a day came upon the enemy encamped in a single tight mass before the wall. It was the late morning of the day of your battle and ours was in full swing"  
"Yes." said Phil. "We heard them move up in the night, obviously to try a dawn assault, which they did. It made all of our hearts quail to see an ocean of men at arms before us. But the magic of the valley we were in did its work, they could not attack in full strength, they could only send so many against us at a time, as many as would fit against the wall. At first it was arrow play with our boys going at it bolt for bolt, in fact, I dare say we gave better by far than they gave, but the enemy had so many archers of his own it was a very dangerous thing to be on the wall as the air grew darker than in a storm with the endless filghts of the arrows. Still, the wall is well build and maintained, and most of the enemies arrows fell harmlessly behind us where they were retrieved by brave lads who fed them back up to the bowmen to return to their owners, but more effectively. After awhile it must have occured to the enemy that he was getting nowhere, for he then launched his next phase, the ladders.

All this time we could see siege engines and catapults being labouriously errected in the background, obviously build in their home countries, and transported here to be used in this battle. Now the enemy knew time was not on his side, and a long siege ment that eventually harvest and wintertime would find him less prepared than we were, so he was obviously prepared to try an all out assault, which is just what he did. The ladders came thicker than trees in an old forest, up against the wall again and again. Fortunately the ground sloped, and was twisted and rocky below the wall, the ladders were not as secure as they might have been. So we could over throw them with a certain amount of ease, but they kept coming. Our Zel was quite a hero then, he kept throwing himself into the thick of things, naked from the waist up, screaming like a berserker!"

"Well, erm, Prince Phil," put in Zel, a bit embarassed, "it was all just psychology you know. I look like a demon, and my stoney exterior is pretty impervious to cuts from the sword, so I wanted them to think I was an evil spirit summoned to defend the wall. I figured a certain number of them were likely to be superstitious and I wanted to take advantage of anything I could." "Zelgadiss Greywords! You stop being so modest! It took courage to do that, you are a hero! You hear me? A HERO!" said an admiring and delighted Amilia as she snuggled into him, hugging his arm fiercely as she glowed hero worship at him. "Amilia..." said Zel, blushing again. "There was general laughter at the table and King Alfred made "knowing" face to Phil and said "I think you'll have to watch that one, dad. You've only seen him from the waist up, who knows what else the chimera magic has done to him, eh?" Phil roared at that one as did most of the table, but Zelgadiss stiffened as if stung and shot an angry glance at Naga, who looked ashamed as she shook her head "No!" Fortunatley this interchange was missed by all except the three girls and Zel.

Naga spoke up, chiding her husband. "My Lord for shame, is this how you treat your heros? By embarassing them?" "Hey?" said King Alfred, surprised. "Oh, I am sorry if my words went amiss Lord Zelgadiss, I meant no offence, only to give you some the backhanded complements we men are famous for." He looked perplexed and perhaps ashamed. "No, no, it is for me to apologise Your Majesty" Zel cut in hastily. "I am sensitive about my looks, not being born a chimera, it is a weakness of mine. You are right, most men would have roared in laughter and boasted, some wittily, some smuttily, about their, um, manly attributes, given such an opening line, but alas, I cannot." He hung his head, ashamed now of his anger. The King shook his head silently for a secong then said "Well, Dad, go on with the story then, let us hear more legitimate praise of your high lord here."

"Well, his plan worked well enough I can say." said Phil. "I have known this young man long enough to know that even if a sword won't cut him it can beat him and hurt him. Yet he willingly took several strokes and just laughed at the enemy as they were stricken with fear at this apparently untouchable warrior before them. He went back and forth across the wall, always seeking the thick of the action and breaking up the enemy's getting a strong hold on any point of the wall, rescuing our lads, and being the hero he really is, modesty or not." Phil's voice was full of praise for the chimera, but Lina observed a look on Phil's face she didn't understand. Suddenly she got it, regret. Phil was sad he couldn't let Zel and Amilia have what they most wanted, each other! Oh, something had to be done, but what? She glanced at Naga and was even more perplexed to see the Queen with a look of extreme concern on her face. What was she thinking? Then she recalled Zel had said he might leave after the war, did Naga suspect something too? Reluctantly Lina wondered if Zel's heroism had a touch of a death wish mixed in with it. Something would have to be done!

Phil rumbled on with the tale. It seemed that Zangulas and his Demonic Howling sword had cut a swath of destruction too, only, his lack of chimeric substance meant that eventually he did get injured. Phil went on "That is how things went on for most of the morning. I was worried about what would happen in the evening or maybe the next morning when the siege engines would be assembled, we would have trouble then for sure. Fortunately, we were spared that by the timely arrival of the cavalry!"

Ha, and with that you hand the tale back to me!" chuckled Alfred. "Well, what shall I say? We came up behind the enemy, a low rise at most a thousand yards away from them hiding us from them. At that point I stopped the horse and called for our light cavalry. They are one of our most decorated units, and one of the fighting units made up of women. They take women from all ranks of society and train them rigorously. Many don't last, but those that do are fierce fighters, and very honourable ladies when not in battle. Like a lot of our units they elect talent, not rank or prestige to poitions of authority. I believe their current captain is a woman who grew up on a farm where she developed her passion for horses. Her ability to lead in battle is a gift from the gods I think. Anyway, we crept forward and spied on the enemy. We noticed the majority of the men were packed into the valley where they couldn't move very well, obviously waiting for the wall to tumble and then to press forward. They had their archers high up on a hill where they had parked the baggage wagons, their only attempt at a rear guard. They were bored and inattentive. They had no idea we were there. We made our plans. The light cavalry went north a fair distance then circled back. They would swoop into the archers and spoil their ability to stop us, and when they were engaged with the women the main body of horse would charge the distance and, gods willing, collapse the siege engines and slaughter the enemy to the point where victory was denied him, no matter what happened at the wall.

While we waited I tried to think of some sort of stirring speech to make, such as old heros were supposed to say, but, alas, I am no bard, and no wise and witty sayings about bleeding awhile with me or going to victory or the grave seemed to come. So we waited. I made a joke about how we only had to kill four men each and then we could go home. It got a laugh. It really wasn't funny, but tension and gallows humour make the strangest things seem funny. I think my greatest moment came when someone asked if I had any advice on how to win and I had the brain storm to say that the secret to success was not in dieing for your country, but in making the enemy die for his. Finally, because we were watching we could see the girls start their charge into the archers, before even the enemy bowmen did. The command was given to take horse, and then I turned and said what I could, something to the effect that "Now is the time! Let every man do his part to protect all that he holds most dear on this good earth!" Real ra-ra stuff, but there was no more time and acting was what we needed, not words. There was a sudden screaming as the light horse swept into the archers and tied them up. The bulk of the enemy were distracted and their commanders took a while to get their acts together and start moving their men in to defend the archers. Which was good, because we were not seen as we crested the hill and rode forward, in relative silence. No horns or anything, no screams or shouts, just a hundred thousand horsemen moving in for the kill. I think we got to with in a furlong of the enemy when they finally noticed us. By then they had no time to change around and form ranks against us, just time enough to try, and in the process become confused and disorganised against our onslaught. But still, though we would carry the outer ranks, we were sure we would be stopped by those farther in who would have time to react. Then...," Here the King was interupted as running feet entered the hall in the form of a messenger. "Your Majesty!" the man cried. "The defenders of the high pass have returned, what's left of them..."

The King stood up, a worried look on his face. "That sounds ominous... I apoligise ladies! I will finish the tale later, now I must go." With that he ran from the hall, out to greet the returning force. His queen rose and went out with him. Amilia stood up and said "I wonder if they need healers?" With that she too was out the hall. "NUTS!" yelled Lina. "This figures somehow, just when the tale gets good..." "What to do?" asked Zel. "For my part I can say we won, and there is more to this tale, but the King is the one to tell it, or so I've been told". He gave Lina an unfathomable look as he spoke, as did Phil. Lina was dying to know, but realised that her curiosity would have to wait upon the King, damn the luck. Oh well...

"Well, I'm going for a walk." said Lina. "If anyone wants me I know there are a few old friends in the Zefielian regiment, so I'm going to see how they fared, okay?" "Sure Lina, have fun, and may they end their tales at the end, not in the middle, he, he." said Phil with a smile. Lina laughed, then turned to Phil and said "You really sure you couldn't finish it?" she pouted, heck, it was always worth a try. "I wasn't in the charge, remember? No, when the King tells the story from his point of view, then I can say what it looked like from the wall. Be patient, oh unofficial middle daughter, it is better to have these tales told properly, not in bits and pieces." Lina sighed, and made her way out the hall, not without shaking a lot of hands and suffering a few kisses for victory, and all that without fireballing anyone, which amazed even her.

She breathed the air outside, it was a little cooler, and she made her way eventually to where Shorty had his tent. "Hiya Shorty!" she called in a cheery voice as she spotted her old friend. A big, easy smile and a "Hey! Little Lina!" came chuckling back in response. "Come on in! I was about to open some of Zephielia's finest!" he added, hoisting a bottle of wine from their homeland. "Oh great! I haven't had a taste of anything Zephielian in years!" Lina said enthusiastically, as she walkied into the tent. There was a small party of officers of the Queen's guards in the tent with Shorty and introductions were made and soon it seemed like a reunion party more than anything. Lina was actually relieved by the atmosphere, the king's court could be rather stuffy, and she had been at two of them, Seirune and Stronghold, for most of the past several weeks. Shorty made a pantomime of serving the wine like some stuffy butler at the table of a queen and soon had the gang laughing and feeling merry. They had a toast to Zephielia, then victory, then to life, at least when it was good, and anything else they felt like. They had been through a great storm, and were overjoyed to have come out the other side.

At one point Lina remarked that the wine was good. There was a round of agreement, then Shorty said "This is good, but in all honesty, that honey wine they make here, what do they call it? Oh yeah, mead... Hey, all these years we've been raising bees in Zefielia for honey and to fertilise the flowers, and we never tried to ferment the stuff, well, wonders never cease. You learn something new all the time." "That or they were too busy with the grapes." smiled Lina. Shorty smiled and nodded in agreement then went on "Anyway, that mead, it's good too! I know of a certain restaurant that could make a good go at offering this as a speciality." "One of Luna's?" asked Lina with a bit of a gulp. "Actually, yes." came the reply.

Lina took a deep breath, thinking of her sister always put her on edge, but it had been so long since she heard anything, she was desperate for news of her family. So she gathered her courage and grabbed the emotional bull by the horns. "So tell me Shorty," she began, then checked herself. "Hey, first of all, tell me your real name. I'm sorry, but I can't remember." A couple of the officers chuckled. Shorty cocked an eye meaningfully at them and they were suddenly very interested in, well, anything that looked like they weren't the sort of people that would laugh at a superior officer's name. Shorty smirked, then turned back to Lina. "I don't think I ever told you to be honest." said Shorty. "It's an old family name, but a little unusual in Zephielia outside my family. It's Theoderic, Theo for short, which I much prefer.And no, I have no idea where it came from." "Theo, hmmm, not bad actually, suits you some how." said Lina. "So, Theo," she went on, tell me how my family is?"

"Hmm," he said, thinking for a second. "Well, your folks are fine, in fact they made their merchandising pay off finally, and are rich. But, they miss you, and it was a shock to find you had run away. Anyway, Luna has become independantly wealthy with her chain of restaurants. She got married five years ago too, same time as I did as a matter of fact. She even has a little girl, just like I do." "Wow, that's amazing!" said Lina quietly. She was sad and thoughtful for some time. then she perked up and said "So tell me Shor..., er Theo, who did Luna marry? And who did you marry? Do I know them?" "Oh well, come to think of it, you do know them Lina. Tell you what, guess." "Guess?" she said. "Yes go on, you'll never get it!" At this point there was a brief interuption as the other officers, who had been quietly sipping their wine and listening to the conversation excused themselves to make a patrol of the camp.

After they left Lina looked at Theo with a sharp eye and said "Guess, eh? Alright, I should have seen that coming! You always did like making things hard for me." she chuckled and went on, "Let's see... hmmm, she likes her men tall, about your height actually. And she would likely want him about her age. Who do I remember that was maybe a little older than her and likely to be tall? Humm, okay, how about, oh what did we call him, Mark the Lark! Shoot, I don't remember his full name, but he had an older brother, uh, Tristan wasn't it?" "Good guess, Tristan is tall." replied Theo. "But Tris married your old friend Cherry." "Cherry?" said Lina tentatively." "Um, you all called her "Tubby" if I remember." "Oh, her..." was Lina's quiet response.

"Well, she was plump, I guess we were as cruel as kids always are." "Yeah, seems to be part of growing up." replied Theo. "Anyway, they have three kids. I hear one more is on the way, and they live in Seirune overseeing the warehouses for one of Zephielia's bigger merchants. I know this because my father in law is a merchant himself and does business with them, though it isn't his warehouse they are working in. I see Tristan about once a year on his vacation home. Nice person actually. And so is Cherry." "Ah, well, that's good." said Lina with a smile.

"Well, maybe I should hazard a guess as to who you married. Hmm, I wonder what type of girl could wrap a man who could have anyone he wanted, because of his good looks, tightly enough around her finger to snare him." Theo snorted at Lina calling him good looking. He remembered a time he was anything but, and Lina had let him know it too. Well, but they were kids, and friends for all that. She thought a moment. "Was it that athletic one? Pamila I think she was called? She was fairly pretty." Theo burst out laughing so hard he dropped his wine, and Lina found herself perturbed, wondering what the joke was. "Pamila?" he gasped out between his laughter finally. "Pamila! The vixen with the dark blue hair? Ho, ho, listen, all I'm going to say on that is that she's now in Elemikia with her best childhood girlfriend. Remember Pfil? The stereotypical dumb blonde?"

"Why are they there?" asked Lina innocently. Theo had trouble replying through his giggles. "Well, let's say it's because they are, um, how to put this, cohabitating?" "Cohabitating?" asked Lina in a confused tone. She looked at Theo. He looked back at her. Something in his eye twinkled, and the light went on for Lina. The world seemed to stand on it's head for a second, then she blushed deeply and said "Oh, cohabitating... uh, really. Well, that explains why Elemikia then, Zephielia is a little more, um conservative in it's views about, um, that, okay, I'm, um, rambling..." Theo saved her. "So, no, I'm not married to Pamila then." "I never saw that one coming, that's for sure..." said Lina still a bit red in the face. "I don't know if anyone did." said Theo.

0"Well, moving right along, um, look, if I beg really nice, will you just tell me who you married and who Luna married?" Lina said, changing the subject. "Maybe." he said with a laugh in his eye now. "Depends on how nice you beg. I think this calls for both knees on the ground, don't you?" "Both your knees on the ground? Would that be before or after I fireball you?" Lina smiled back, mock menace in her voice. Theo seemed to think about that one deeply, then chuckled. "Ah, the hell with it." said Theo. "Luna married no one other than..." "LINA!" came an excited yell from outside followed by Amilia bursting into the tent. Lina turned with a little snarl to tell the Princess to keep quiet, then she saw the gravely worried look on the girls face and realised something important had happened. "What is it, Amilia?" she asked, looking worried. Amilia pointed back towards the hall, and said only one word.

"Gourry!"

Lina was out of the tent faster than the fastest arrow ever sped. Faster even than one of those novelty skyrockets being introduced into the west (well, his east actually) by the imfamous fireworks maker Jilas (apparently he was working as a subsitiary of "Vases and Maces Inc."!) Lina ran as fast as she could and then some. She even forgot to breath until the pain in her chest forced her to remember. Finally she burst into the hall to the startled looks of the guests still inside. She had hoped and prayed, and convinced herself to believe, and thus fully expected Gourry would be sitting there eating or something and that everyone would have a good laugh at her expense for falling for a trick. Now that it wasn't happening she was lost. Not for long though. Amilia grabbed her by the collar and turned her around, puffing from the effort to keep up with Lina. "Didn't you hear me?" she panted. "He's in the infirmary." She could see the confusion in Lina's eyes, so she grabbed her friend's hand and ran with her out out of the hall and around to the building that served as the medical center. The clattered in and went straight to a private room, guards and staff scrambling to get out of their way.

There was only one bed in the room. Zel, and Phil, and Naga were there, watching Prince Erik examine the figure on the bed. Tall he was, well muscled, with long, dirty, disheveled blond hair that reached down to his waist. He needed a shave in the worst way, but for all that there was no mistaking his identity. Lina had found Gourry. If only he weren't at death's door... Lina sprang forward and was caught by Zel. "Let the doctor finish Lina." he whispered. "We don't have Sylphiel, we have to rely on their experience." "Wha-what's wrong with him?" asked a trembling Lina. Zel pointed. Now Lina noticed the cut off shaft of a wicked looking arrow sticking up from his left shoulder. It looked too deeply embeded to simply have it's tip in his muscles or even his joint. No, this was deep, possibly into his lungs. Erik looked grave as he examined the patient. Finally he turned and said "His life hangs by a thread. That arrow is deadly where it lies, it is amazing the trip home didn't cause it to cut something it shouldn't have. It has to come out, but I warn you, the chances of death are great. But they are absolutely certain if we leave it in place. We have no choice. I go to prepare for the surgery. Alas, all the nurses are busy, but someone must watch him and make sure that, no matter what, he doesn't move, not even to roll over. But alas and alak, he seems to be in a deep coma, he might not move anyway". Lina spoke up in a strange voice "I will watch him, he will not move." Then, ignoring everyone else, the distraught girl lowered herself down to where she could whisper in to Gourry's ear and hold him gently. "Gourry?" she asked quietly. "I hope you can hear me. It's Lina. Gourry, don't leave me, please don't go where I cannot follow. I have been looking for you since you left me at the inn. I'm sorry Gourry, I'm sorry I laughed at you, it wasn't meant the way it came across. Do you remember you asked me a question Gourry? Please remember that you did, because I have wanted to give you the answer for so long now. It's yes, Gourry. Yes! I do love you, and I want to marry you. I do Gourry, I do! Gourry, why won't you wake up? Why won't you talk to me and let me know it will be alright? Gourry?"

As she spoke Lina stroked his face and kissed him, but no matter what happened, the blond swordsman just lay there in a state deeper than sleep. Lina despaired that he could even hear her, and that he would go to his grave not knowing that she loved him. Poor Lina. She had confronted many losses in her life, but most, if not all of the people were still alive, and there was still hope for a reunion. But Gourry threatened to go away in a manner that would not allow any such hope. Still, she didn't allow herself to cry, Gourry didn't need that. She kept a long vigil. Her friends took it in turns to sit with her when they could, but they talked little. Mostly Lina tried to talk to Gourry, hoping he'd hear her voice and wake up. But alas, Gourry stayed asleep.

Finally, they were ready for him, and strong but gentle men came to lift him carefully onto a stretcher and move him to where Prince Erik himself would attempt to save his life. Lina wasn't allowed to go, and so she sat on the bed, looking hopeless. Whoever had watched with her last had gone, and she felt crushed by the loneliness. She hadn't felt that way since when she first left home for good at Luna's insistence. Then a voice spoke. "Excuse me, Miss, are you Lina?"

Lina looked up, to see an exhausted and wounded, but obviously expertly cared for young man standing there. She nodded. "Wow," said the young man. "So, you are the goddess that Jellyfish is in love with." Lina was startled by that, but it had the effect of giving her her voice back. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, not sure what the youth was getting at. "Um, well, I know the man they just took off to the doctor there, the one you were staying with." said the man by way of explanation. "I don't know what his right name is, he never told us, he only signed up by his nickname "Jellyfish." Lina gulped at a big lump that suddenly came to her throat. So he HAD been listening all those years! The man went on "Um, he was really quiet, and we all figured something was bothering him, but he was a great swordsman, and that, plus his magic sword, well he was a natural for the dangerous assignment we got, to go to the high pass and hold it against any and all comers. And sometimes he'd talk a bit, tell us a few brief stories of how he traveled with a young lady whom he never named, having adventures of all sorts, but he was always sad. It wasn't until the last battle, when we were at our most desperate time, that he seemed to get a sudden burst of courage by calling on the name of someone named "Lina". We wondered if it was someone he loved, but others thought he was calling on a goddess. Now that I see you, I think he was doing a bit of both!"

Lina's heart stopped for a minute. What was this kid talking about? "I am no goddess, just a girl, a girl with a big mouth, and no brains to think with before I speak." She was silent for a minute then said to the young man "What is your name?" "Latimer." was the response. "Latimer, please tell me what happened? I need to know. Please?" "Okay, um, sure! I'd be happy to, Miss Lina." he said. He sat down on the bed beside her, obviously tired from his ordeal and his own injuries, and proceeded to tell Lina about their adventure. Of course, the first part had not much to say, they had heard about how the new land in the east had put out a call for warriors, meaning mercenaries, of course. Not a hugh number had answered but many hundreds did come. Latimer had been one, he and a few friends and family members were of a mind to try adventuring. Along the way they had met others and the little party had grown, including a fairly silent man, obviously a warrior of some sort, who would only give the name "Jellyfish" when asked. He had been going north through Zefielia on his way to Elemikia when they had over taken him.

Lina slapped her forehead. She had thought he was going south the Seirune. But she realised she wouldn't have likely found him if she had gone north anyway, and going south had allowed her to meet Zel, and the adventure. "Maybe this was ment to be, so I'd meet Naga again, and be there to help with the battle and all. I'd like to think there was some sort of higher meaning to it at least..." she thought to herself as the young man went on. The group had gone to Westhold, and been admited, and went to Stronghold, and been tested, and then the best had been taken aside and offered a special high paying, but very dangerous job. Those that had accepted were joined with a hand picked corps of fighters from Westhold, and were sent to learn of their duties, while the rest of the mercenaries were marched off with some regular troops to man the wall and set things in order at the bottleneck pass. Of course the special team's duties were to go on a series of forced marches and guard the high pass. They set to with a will and made good time, coming to the pass shortly before midsummer. But, when they got there they found the pass was aready overtaken by the enemy!  
There were three narrow places along the trail where a man and a horse could go only in single file, and and the enemy was just emerging from the first, or from the enemy's point of view, the third, such narrow. It was a lucky thing they got there just when they did, for their first man was litteraly going around a bend in the pass when he encountered the enemy going the other way, if they had been even fifteen minutes later they would have had a sizeable force of enemy soldiers facing them on a wider part of the path where their numbers could be put to good use. As it was it was almost a defeat as it quickly became a battle of attrition where the front man would pitch one or two enemies off the cliff face, only to be pitched himself. The enemy had come in numbers, easily ten thousand men, and against them, the five hundred who stood for Westhold would have simply lost by sheer numbers. But then Jellyfish came pushing his way to the front, and his magic sword turned the tide. No enemy could stand against a sword that simply cut through any weapon, or shield, or armour, or even flesh, like a red hot knife cuts through melted butter. The enemy simply had to back up.

Now, in hindsite, if they had been smart they should have stayed there and denied the enemy the pass until the winter set in and closed it with them trapped, but they were afraid of the enemy breaking through, so they gave pursuit. It was harder in the wider areas that followed, partly because the enemy had room to maneuver, and partly because they were fighting on slippery slopes with sheer drops on either side. But wherever the battle was hardest, there was the magic sword and the blond madman who wielded it. Lina's eyes went wide as she heard that, Gourry was usually too skilled to be careless. Did he have a death wish? Latimer went on. He explained how they finally drove the enemy back to the last and most dangerous of the three narrow spots. This one was the narrowest and the slipperiest. It was the most overhung with rock and snow too. It was here that the enemy finally decided to make a stand. "I don't know why they chose to do it there Miss Lina, I suspect they were under a threat of death if they returned the way they went. All I know is this. There was some sort of wierd ritual going on in the background as we tried to push them back, a lot of painful screams suddenly filled the air, like some sort of a torturous sacrifice was being performed."

Lina was horrified, she had heard of human sacrifice of course, in tales of the old days, she never imagined anyone except a few criminal magicians still practiced it. Hmmm, maybe that's why she never recognised the spells at the cliff face when she fought them... Latimer continued "The screams suddenly got wierd, then terrifying, and inhuman. Suddenly a mighty warrior rushed to the front, frothing at the mouth and with his eyes rolled back. I think he was possessed. Anyway, he had superhuman strength. He scattered us about like leaves, tossing many of us off the cliff. And he held a glowing quarterstaff in his hands. It struck left and right in rapid order, and whoever it hit seemed to just go down. I found out why when it was my turn. I didn't take a full blow, just a brush along the back of my hand which I had thrown out to defend myself. That brush numbed my hand, it still doesn't feel right, and I felt black despair creep into the edges of my soul. I imagine those who took a full blow simply had the will to live knocked out of them. And then came our hero to the fore. He swung, and to our amasement, although the possessed warrior was sent staggering back from the force of the blow, the weapon didn't break or get cut! He struck again and again with the same result. The warrior was always able to parry his blows and the magic staff didn't break. Then Jellyfish over reached slightly and was slow getting back from a blow, leaving an opening. He took three solid blows from the monster and went down. We thought he was dead. So did the monster who roared in hideous laughter at his foe. But Jellyfish wasn't out. He looked around, and even as we crowded forward to try and free him he had a plan. He gathered himself together even as the demonic warrior prepared to give one more blow that would have sent him into the abyss. He suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, like it was a battle cry, the name "LINA!" and went straight up the cliff face to the overhang. He hacked and hewed with his sword until the whole thing came down in an avalanche. The warrior was swept away and the path was blocked. Jellyfish sprang to get away, and as he did so an arrow came from the enemy side and landed in his shoulder. We rushed forward and pulled him away, some of us getting injured in the process as more shafts came speeding by, but we got out of range and settled down to tend the wounded and see what would happen. Eventually the sun set and in the darkness of the night a snow storm came upon us"  
You must realise we were that high up that snow storms can come any time of year. Still it was as if the mountain's gods were saying "ENOUGH!" The storm trapped us for a night and a day and another night before abating. We were cold and tired, we didn't have enough fuel to keep a fire going the whole time and some of us were almost frozen, including Jellyfish. Now he wasn't passed out at that time, he was awake, but very tired, very, well, depressed. I think it was from the blows of the magical weapon. He just slowly started retreating into himself. Still, at first he could walk, and when the weather broke some of the guides we had picked up assured us that the storm would return and that the pass was about to be snowed in and not passable again till next year. They did say it was early this year, but that it was not unknown for the pass to close even at the height of summer. We did the only thing we could, we packed up and retreated back to the high plain before the first pass. We waited a week, it was tough and some good men died of their injuries, but there weren't enough of us left to both move the wounded and watch the pass and all agreed, even the wounded, including Jellyfish, that we had to be sure they weren't getting through. A week passed, it was getting more cold and snowy, and we had to go or die of cold. We left, but we were sure they wouldn't follow in this weather. We finally found some villages where we got help. We had bound Jellyfish's arrow as best we could, for we knew it was deep. The problem was that it stuck out so much that every movement threatened to make it move, so one of us, who was a woodworker by trade, and used to dealing with small pieces of wood for delicate carvings, spent the week removing what he could of the arrow shaft so it was easier for him to move and walk. But he wouldn't eat, we had to coax him to drink water.

When we were secure we moved down making for Stronghold to report. We found other villages, but they all had the same problem, the doctors had gone to the muster and only lesser trained people were there to help. We were really afraid for Jellyfish, the other seriously wounded were dead or were stable and being cared for in various villages awaiting the return of the doctors, but he couldn't wait so we brought him with us, but he kept getting weaker and that arrow was a threat with every step. Finally, about a week out, we found a small hamlet where an old wise woman knew a couple of tricks. She put some sort of an immobility spell on the arrow and it froze in place. I don't think you could have driven it in with a sledgehammer. And just in time too, Jellyfish was stumbling by now, not talking, slowly ebbing away. But he was very strong for all that. He finally collapsed about a day out from Stronghold and we made a stratcher and carried him the rest of the way, getting here earlier this evening. But you know that. I'm not sure when he lapsed into a coma, when he first collapsed he would babble a bit, I'm sure he said Lina more than once, then silence. And it was about noon today the freezing spell wore off and we had to go slow and careful. But finally we made it, and now, thank the gods he has Prince Erik himself to look after him. From what the native Westholders tell me there simply isn't a finer doctor to be had. If he can't do, I don't know who can, short of the Golden Lord herself. But what worries me is the blow to his spirit that magical rod gave him. I think that's done as much as anything to sap his spirit. I don't know what can help there. I don't know how to describe it, it's like, like, I don't know, all the music goes out of your soul or something, and I think if you took a full blow the light must follow the music. I hope he lives and recovers, a lot of people want to thank him.

Lina sat there taking it all in. Finally she said, utter amazement in her voice "Gourry did all that? And I inspired him..." "Gourry eh?" said Latimer. "I never knew his name till now." Lina looked up "Yeah... it's Gourry, Gourry Gabriev. he's from Elemikia." Latimer nodded. "I'm Latimer Ivanchuck! I'm from Zoana. I hear that my King came out to the battle too." "Zangulas? Oh yes, he was there, I think he got an injury too, so hey, you are in good company!" answered Lina, trying to make a joke. Latimer smiled and said "Hey that's true! Wait'll I tell everyone I did just as good as the King! So, if I may be so bold, what's your full name, Lina? And where are you from?" "Me. Oh, I'm Lina, Lina Inverse from Zephielia." she replied a bit absentmindedly. "Ah, you have the same name as that sorceress everyone talks about." said Latimer sincerely. If she hadn't been so worried Lina would probably have had something sarcasticly clever to say as she decked him, but as it was all she could do was give Latimer a strange look, and say "Yeah, how about that?"

To change the subject she said "Poor Gourry, he's going to be upset to learn he's lost his second magical sword." "Huh?" asked Latimer. "Gourry used to bear nothing less than the Sword of Light, but he willingly gave it up when it's owners from the Overworld came and asked for it." "Wow!" said Latimer with a little whistle. "Yeah," Lina went on, "then he found a cheap sword from somewhere and had to do battle against a mazoku high lord, Dynast Grausherra to be exact, who is a master of the cold, well, in the battle the cheap blade gets heated up, then Dynast grabs it with his freezing hand and the blade shatters. So all seems lost till suddenly it is noticed that there is a second blade in the first one. That's wierd isn't it? Hiding a blade inside a blade? Only of course it turns out to be the magical Blast Blade, the blade so sharp it can cut anything except it's magically charmed sheath, and I guess the cheap sword it was hidden in had some sort of magic too, and well, he's had it for a long time now, but it's likely still cutting it's way through the earth if it hasn't fallen out the bottom already on it's way to another of the Lord of Nightmare's four worlds." She gave a sigh. Latimer beamed a big smile at her and said "Now you wait right here Miss Lina!" and painfully got up and went out of the room.

Lina wondered what he was up to. She thought about what he had said. Gourry had taken his very inspiration from her. Oh, what a fool she had been! "Now, now," said part of her soul. "Don't beat up on yourself Lina, you didn't know all this was going to happen, and you were entitled to be sure before you said yes to him." "I could have been faster about it!" bemoaned the other half, but before it turned into a Lina Inverse Super Special Pity Party she was rescued by the return of Latimer, triumphantly holding up the Blast Blade, with it's sheath! Lina gasped and gave squeal of joy! "Where on earth...?" she began. "Hey" said Latimer, "He had the sheath tied on with extra cords, and one of them held, and he had such a death grip on the sword that it took two of us ten minutes to pry his fingers open enough to get it out. Of course, they were being careful of both the arrow and the super sharp blade, but still, that's quite a grip!" He handed it to Lina telling her he figured she was the best one to keep it for him. Lina's eyes shone with tears of gratitude as she thanked the young man profusely. "Well, happy to help Miss." he smiled back. He excused himself as he had to go report to various people now that he was on the mend, he said he had only stopped by to see how the hero was doing. With a broad smile he left, and Lina sat back down on the bed with the sword, safely sheathed, hugged tight against her, wishing she was holding Gourry that tightly instead. She wasn't sure how much longer she sat there, but finally movement in the hall heralded the return of her Gourry. The stretcher was brough in, and Gourry was put back to bed and tucked in tight. A nurse sat down there, her job was to watch the patient all night and make sure nothing went wrong, or to get Prince Erik if something did.

The Prince himself walked in just behind the strecher, and the King came with him. "Well, that's over." Erik said. "It was trickly, but we have had a few lucky breaks and I am very confident he will heal." "So, this is the man named "Jellyfish" the one who stopped the invasion of my kingdom from the north. And it turns out he is your Gourry we were looking for, Lady Lina." added the King. "No wonder we couldn't find him. Westhold owes him much, and he shall have it too." Lina looked hopefully at Gourry. His face seemed a little more at ease, but he was still in a coma, there was no word to describe it, there just was something about him that you knew he wasn't asleep. "Please, my Lord Prince Erik," said Lina in a low voice, being very formal for once as an immense wave of gratitude for the man flowed through her, "Tell me how the operation went?"

"Sure, but drop the formal stuff okay? This isn't a state occasion!" he replied with a chuckle. "So, what's to tell? We got him in there, we trickled some drugs down his throat, enough to make sure he was deeply asleep, then we had a good look at the wound. It had been stablized well, and I had the chief medical aide who had gone north with the special force there to tell me what had happened. They were lucky they found that old woman who could stabilize the injury, it really helped, as did having that carpenter or woodcarver cut off the most of the arrow so it didn't flop around as he walked. I think they both deserve a big reward for this." "Already noted." said the King with a smile. "Great!" said Erik "Well, the other thing that helped was his shirt." "Huh?" said Lina, confused. "Oh, we issued silk shirts to all the soldiers." said the King. "Huh?" repeated Lina. "Well, it's a trick we've learned from the enemy over the years." he went on. "Turns out that if you wear a loose silk shirt, erm, well, let me back up a minute. Silk is strong. We don't know why, but it acts stronger than steel somehow. Not bad, considering that it is the thread a little worm spins for itself to make a cocoon when it wants to become a butterfly. Or is it a moth? I can't remember. Anyway, it spins yards of the stuff at a time as a single long thread, and that's why it can be used for cloth. It's like spider thread, apparently. It cost us a lot of money to import so much, but it makes wonderful soft shirts for soldiers, and beautiful gowns for ladies, as I believe you know, Lady Lina." Lina nodded, wondering where this was going.

The King went on. "The stuff is delicate in some ways, but as I said, it is stronger than steel wire drawn to nearly the same diameter. And that's why the soldiers get it. You see, as the enemy has demonstrated for generations, if it's worn loosely, so that it has some give, it doesn't rupture or cut when an arrow hits you, rather it drives into the wound with the arrow!" Lina looked up, eyes open in surprise. The King went on, again, "Because of this it surrounds the arrow head and reduces the damage it does and the depth it penetrates. It also keeps the wound cleaner." Prince Erik spoke up. "It also makes it easier to withdraw the arrow head." Lina gave a gasp! The wound was bad, but not as bad as they feared. Prince Erik was right, he would heal! She allowed a joyful smile to come to her face. "Oh thank you both, your Majesties, that is better news than I feared!"

"One more piece of news, my Lady." said Erik, as he held up a wicked sharp pointed bit of metal. The arrowhead itself! "This is an armour piercing point. No wicked, cruel barbs. No bladed edges, just the nasty point. Passage through his armour and the shirt stopped it before it reached the major vein that runs under his collar bone, which was our main fear. Also, the wound was fairly clean, thanks to the shirt again. We have packed it with healing herbs and cast what magic we have on him to speed the recovery. My greatest fear is now the wound to his soul the magic weapon seems to have dealt him. You have heard his story, have you not, lady?" "Y-yes, one of his commrades at arms came by to see how he was, just after you took him. He sat awhile and told me what went on up north." She looked up at Prince Erik and said "Your Majesty, please don't send me away from him till he at least wakes up. Please!" The Prince looked softly at Lina. "Okay." he said with a smile. "Well, I shall leave you to him then. The nurse will help if you need anything." He and the King turned to go.

Lina spoke up. "I-I'm sorry, but may I ask one more question?" "Of course." he said kindly, turning back. Lina asked "How is Sylphiel?" A sad look came over the Prince's face. "Well, she is talking a bit, eating and drinking a bit, but, she is still very sad, I think. Or in shock. Her body is healing, but the wound she bears seems more one of the heart. Alas, for that I have no cure." "You might." said Lina. It was the Prince's turn to look puzzled. "She told me once that she felt something for you, Prince Erik, something I suspect, and she did not deny, might have been the beginings of love. She hoped you felt the same way. If this is true I believe simply having you around will do more to call her back than any other magic or leechcraft known to mankind. I know you are busy, but she gave so much there on the cliff, and had to withstand such a shock to her soul. If you can but talk with her, about herbs or whatever you were discussing before the war even, I think it might help. I hope I haven't made trouble for telling you this, but I care for her too." The Prince looked a bit stunned, then blushed, but he smiled warmly. "No, and I thank you for telling me! I will do as you ask, when my duties allow." He turned and walked out, perhaps there was a spring in his step? The King chuckled and turned to Lina. "I think that's the best news my brother has had all day! Thanks Lina!" he smiled, and left the room too. Lina sighed. The nurse tried to reassure her, and Lina tried to be reassured. They settled in for a long watch.

Gourry did not wake up that night, nor the next day. Lina did not give over her vigil either. She was tired, but too wound up to sleep. Her friends were terribly worried when they had to coax her to eat, this was so not like Lina! They missed her at the meals, and in the activities of the day, but they realised she was where she needed to be and respected her wishes. But if only she would sleep, or eat something. But there were other duties, other sick people, armies to march off home. Zangulas for one, packed up his troop the next day after the victory, he was after all, only the King, and he had his orders from she who must be obeyed! So, being he wan't too badly injured he mounted up and rode off, taking his subjects with him, including one Latimer Ivanchuck whom he had overheard describing to his friends about the small redhead who was Jellyfish's mystery goddess. "She even has the same name as that infamous sorceress, Lina Inverse."

The others chortled, until they were cut off by a kingly "TWIT! That's because she IS the sorceress." The crowd turned in fear and shock to face their lord. Zangulas smiled knowingly and added "Think about the description..." Latimer, trembling before his king, mentally went through the list, then with a shakey voice said "Y-Y-Your majesty, this one didn't have the temper..." "Okay, I'll grant you that, but that's because she's tired now. And you are very lucky. And so are we that she isn't here to overhere this conversation. Now, get ready to leave!" was the royal reply. And so they did, and so did many others. It was the start of the waning of summer, and many would not get home until hard on harvest time, and what with many men not returning, as always happened in a war, there would be lots to too much work for everyone, provided they got home in time. So, while Lina watched over Gourry, life did get on. Oaths of friendship were taken, rewards were handed around in full measure, pay was paid out, and the accounts settled in a busy, hectic time. Finally the last troops marched off, leaving only a few hold overs who were staying for their own reasons.

Prince Phil for example, had sent the troops back under the care of a general, and had kept a small guard on stand by to let him return with Amilia after he had had a chance to visit with Gracia and her family a bit, now that there was peace again. Zelgadiss seemed to be in good spirits on the night of the return, but then he became moody again, and Amilia tried to put it off to tiredness, but deep inside her old fears surfaced. He was leaving... Naga found herself very busy, everything from the demands of her baby, to her duities to grieving families, to state duties, to magical duties, to you name it. And still Gourry slept on, and still Lina kept her lonely watch. She was tired now, but sleep eluded her. Doctors and friends popped in and out, but, nothing changed.

There was even a surprise visit from Sylphiel in the middle of the second night. She had gotten up from wherever she was lying in the hospital, and had wandered in. Lina was startled to see her, but even more startled by the vacant way she just stared at Gourry. She didn't respond to Lina at all, just stared at Gourry. Lina was starting to get freaked out by this when she suddenly turned away from Gourry and looked at Lina. She said in a strange voice "I'm sorry Lina, I'm so sorry for everything!" and took off running. Lina had thought she wasn't able to sleep before this, now she was even more wound up. She kept a lonely, scared vigil throughout the night, wondering what would happen next.

The third morning dawned and Lina was begining to despair. Prince Erik came in eventually and examined the wound, which he declared to be healing. He then told Lina that Sylphiel seemed to be much better that morning, she was more alert and talkative, and had even eaten a good breakfast. He told Lina that this ment there was always hope. Lina told him of the strange visit, and the Prince thought for a moment then said "I wonder if she was sleep walking? But she's only getting better, not fully healed yet." Lina was too tired to argue, so she accepted the explanation. The day wore on, people came and went, Gourry was helped to drink, but it was a slow process of dribbling a bit down his throat till his reflex kicked in and he swallowed. Lina was a bit of a godsend for she did that without fail, seeing the staff were too busy to do it regularly or properly.

As the day wore on she talked to Gourry, trying all sorts of things to get a response. She threatened to eat all the food. She offered to leave him some. Later on she offered to, just this once, serve him his food herself and let him eat his fill before she touched a bite. She talked about what they might do once they were married. She held his hand, she even kissed him like in the fairy tales of her youth, but alas, such cures only seemed to work for sleeping maidens. Night came around again, and Lina was running well beyond empty. She was getting a bit babbly, and the staff quietly prepared orders left by the Queen, they were sure she'd finally be a sleep by morning. And they were right.

In the small of the night Lina had snuggled into bed with Gourry. She was too tired to stand, she kept drifting in and out. It was as if she wanted to do something but could no longer think of what to do. Somewhere in the confusion she even found herself praying to the unknown god again, even though she couldn't remember why. But she asked for Gourry to wake up please, and that would be all the miracle she would ever need, and couldn't he do it please, and..., then she woke up again and sighed, what was she doing? She lay there awile, drifing, whispering to Gourry, pouring her heart out, telling him she really was a scared little girl deep inside and wouldn't he please come back and be her guardian once more. Finally sleep crept up and over her once more like a dark, soothing tide, and she drifted.

As she did she got the urge to sing a song. She didn't know where it came from, exhaustion probably, but it seemed like a good idea, so she reached into her memory and found that of all the songs she knew only an old love song, maybe one that her mother used to sing, or maybe one that Luna sang, she couldn't remember, came floating up ready to go. Lina was rumoured to have a screechy voice. This was mainly because that's what a lot of people heard just before a never to be forgotten encounter with a fireball happened, an event which fixed the voice in their memories indelibly. Also, she did tend to sing to herself quietly in a tuneless manor, letting her memory fill in the notes, and she herself would say she didn't have much of a voice, but in truth, although she had never taken any formal lessons, and was rather shy about singing in public, when she tired, she sang beautifully. This was one of those times as she sang quietly to Gourry.

"Somewhere in the world,  
Somewhere in the dark,  
I can hear the voice that calls my name.  
Might be a memory,  
Might be my future,  
Might be a love waiting for me.

Rock me gently,  
Hug me tenderly,  
'Til the morning breaks, night fades away.  
I've spent my time in vain,  
Trapped inside pain,  
Don't let me down,  
Help me see the light.  
Feeling bitter and twisted, all alone,  
Wading through an empty life too long.  
I close my eyes,  
Listen to the wind,  
Longing to belong to a higher place.

Let me hear your voice,  
Let me be with you,  
When the shadow falls down upon me.  
Like a bird singing,  
Like a breeze blowing,  
It's calling me,  
Somewhere in the world."

Finally, the sleep washed over her, and as she drifted off she whispered to Gourry "Come back to me Gourry, I need you..." 


	19. sChapter18

Chapter 18 xxxxxxxxxx

Her eyes opened slowly on a bright day. She felt refreshed and comfortable, it was amazing what some sleep can do for you. She looked around at the gold posts of the queen's bed and thought with bemusement how there was more money than her home town was worth in the chambers she was being allowed to use for her visit here. If only she could take it, wouldn't Luna be surprised to find that she and the rest of the city had been bought out by Lina and Gourry. Gourry... Suddenly her memory woke up in full and she popped awake! She was really in the Queen's bed! How did she get here? Who moved her from Gourry's side? How dare they! With a loud shout she lept from the bed.

The serving girl Trina ran in from the other room a look of fear on her face. "Lady Lina?" she said, not knowing what to make of it. "Why!" shouted Lina "Why am I here? I should be at his side!" The poor servant girl looked even more afraid. "Please, please forgive us Lady!" she said. "The Queen had left strict orders that if and when you fell asleep you were to be brought back here so you could sleep well, and then, when you awoke, food, a bath, and clean clothing were to be made available to you, with strict orders that you were to use them all and refresh yourself before you went back..., back to him, so you'd be able to care for him better, having cared for yourself first..." Lina stopped in mid rant and let out a sigh. There was a point to it, she could see. "Okay, but be quick..." she said.

Trina led her into the next room. Food was set out and Lina ate. She found she was as hungry as if she had just cast a baker's dozen Dragon Slaves. She piled the food in, and drank well, and yawned all the way through the meal, but on Trina's timid sugestion she needed more sleep she gave such a frown the poor girl trembled in fear. This got Lina's attention, Trina was usually too happy for that to happen. She looked closer at the poor girl. "Trina," she asked in a quieter, concerned voice "Why are your eyes red? Have you been..., oh what am I asking! Of course you have been. Was it your father?" The girl hung her head, the tears starting to flow again, and shook her head "No". Lina clued in. "Oh no, not your love?"

The girl began to weep openly, for that's just who it was and sank into Lina's embrace. Both girls cried, one for her loss, the other for the fear of soon being in the same state. After a bit, Lina looked the younger girl in the eyes and said "I'm sorry I was snappish Trina, I get like that at the drop of a hat, and with no sleep, and a major worry that I will soon share your fate I really am not myself. Please forgive me." Trina sniffed and replied "Lady, it's okay, and I am sorry too, I was having a weep when you woke up, I probably disturbed you." "Why didn't they let you take time off?" asked Lina. "I need to work, if I keep busy the pain is less, they would have given me all the time I wanted if I were to ask." the girl answered. "Okay, I understand that." said Lina. "Okay then, let's get you busy, help me wash and dress, I need to get back to Gourry." Trina sniffed and smiled and went to work.

Lina's old clothes were soon off and set aside to be washed. Lina was at first going to wear another set, but Trina held up a pretty dress and shyly said to Lina "If he wakes up, he'll think he's in heaven and you are an angel." Lina laughed and thanked Trina as she slipped it on. As usual the young girl had great taste when it came to dressing Lina and Lina joked "If I ever become a rich lady you are going to be my personal maid, and even more, my friend, if you want that job, Trina. Though, don't get your hopes up, I have no doubt Gourry and I will end up as lower middle class or something. Ah, I don't know how many times I've had riches in my hands worth millions, but circumstances wouldn't let me keep them. And now, if I could have it all back, I'd give it away in an instant if my true wealth would only open his eyes once more." Trina nodded. "If you get rich, I'll be glad to take up your offer, My Lady" she said softly.

Lina hugged her once more, gave a final check in the mirror, brushed at a fly away spot of hair and went out of the room. She used the back ways to avoid meeting anyone in the great hall where it sounded like some sort of merry making was going on. She made her way quickly to the infirmary and into Gourry's room. "Gourry! I'm back!" she sang out as she entered into the room..., and came face to face with a startled housekeeper cleaning the room. "What?" she gasped. "Where, where's the man who was in the bed last night?" The house keeper looked confused and said "He's gone." "When?" asked Lina, the colour draining from her face as the room began to spin. "Sometime this morning, my Lady." was the reply. "And nobody woke me...," Lina's voice was quivering now as she staggered out of the room. "I, I'm sorry..." was the reply. Lina fled. The pain was building up rapidly inside, yet she couldn't let it out, the lump in her throat was too big. She ran out into the courtyard not knowing where to go or what to do. The world itself pressed in on her. Oh! How prophetic had been her words with Trina. The whole keep was suddenly too small. Acting on instinct, she activated the spell Ray-Wing and flew off into the air, away, away, she didn't care where, as long as it was away. Finally she found a secluded spot far away from everything and everybody, and landed. Falling to the ground she gave herself over to the blackness of her grief.

It was evening when she finally came back. She was angry now. No, she was in rage! How dare they let her sleep and then let her go to the infirmary to learn the horrible truth for herself. They should have awakened her and told her right away. Even if they got there too late..., by the nine hells, they should have not moved her in the first place. Fancy dresses nothing! Breakfast and a bath nothing! Gourry was all that mattered and they took him away from her! No, not they, the Queen... So thought Lina in unreason as she shoved the doors open to the great hall and decended on the Royal group at the table. It was just an intimate gathering, the King, his Queen, the Seirune trio. Baby Arthur seemed not to be in attendance. It looked as if another two places had been set, doubtless for Lina and Prince Erik. Well, she was here now.

"Naga!" she shouted getting their attention. "They tell me it was YOUR order that took me away from Gourry's side. I should have been there Naga!" "I beg your pardon?" came the shocked and confused reply. "The least you could have done was to have someone come and fetch me." Lina went on, growling in her anger now. "You know what he ment to me! I thought we were friends Naga! You said you loved me back in Seirune! Did you lie!" Naga was dumbfounded to say the least, and the rest of the table was shocked into silence too. Naga found her voice, "I-I don't understand Lina! I thought you'd want a good rest and a chance to get ready before you saw him again..." Lina screamed and shouted "Fine, a noble act, but you could have at least come and gotten me when he died!" The table was silent in shock. Lina went on. "But NO! YOU LET ME SLEEP IN! I had to find out for myself when I walked into his room and some poor cleaner who was there washing the bed told me he was gone just this morning!" Naga's mouth flapped silently several time then she finally said "Lina, you don't think I..." Lina cut her off. "I don't think? I don't think? NAGA! For as long as I've known you it's YOU who don't think. Or rather you think your own elevated thoughts and ignore or just plain miss the obvious." By now Lina was worked up into a state of unreason. "I have forgiven you so many times Naga because I truely do love you! BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!" she shrieked. She had a very dangerous light in her eyes. Suddenly she yelled "OH, TO HELL WITH YOU!"

With that she totally lost it and cocked her arm back. A ball of flame sprang up in her hand and with a yell of "FIREBALL!" she hurtled the deadly sphere at the Queen. Several things happened at once. Naga hit the deck, her old reflexes still as sharp as ever. The fire ball went high, as if Lina, even in her anger had not wanted to hurt the Queen, and perhaps she didn't. It did make an impressive explosion at the back of the hall and several servants came out of no where to beat out the flames. Amilia launched herself on top of Gracia and threw a protective ward around her. A pair of strong hands, like bands of iron gripped Lina's arms from behind, holding her fast against any future attemps. Zelgadiss and Prince Phil yelled in surprise at Lina's crazy action. And then King Alfred slammed his hand down on the table and said in a voice so commanding that even Lina, despite her state, was unable to resist, "SILENCE!" The hall became absolutely silent.

Lina suddenly found her emotional energy had drained with the fireball and she slumped in the arms of the guard that held her. She hung her head in shame and waited for the King to pronounce her fate. She had no doubt what it would be, ah well, perhaps it was just as well this way... King Alfred looked straight at her, his anger evident. Finally, he spoke. "You Dare?" Lina started to cry. "He's gone and I lost it, Your Majesty..." "That's an excuse?" he demanded. "I have none Your Majesty." was her reply. She went on. "He is dead and gone now, please, send me to him. Make it as horrible as you want in revenge for this, but please send me to him..." The King was silent for a long minute. The rest of the hall seemed to hold it's breath, and although Lina didn't see it, Naga silently put her hands together as if in prayer, pleading for mercy for Lina. The King seemed not to see her. Finally he spoke, in a lower, but perhaps more dangerous voice.

"So, you would force Our hand in this and get Us to do what you couldn't do yourself." He was silent a bit longer then went on "I'm not buying into it Lina Inverse. Here is your punishment. You will LIVE!" Lina drooped in defeat. The King went on "I now make you the slave of the man who holds your arms, a brave and true knight of the realm who sprang forward to protect his Queen. I wash my hands of you, he has your fate in his keeping. If you want to die, get him to kill you! But I don't think you'll find him that easy to convince!" With that he sat down and the tension seemed to lessen, just a bit.

Lina sobbed a few times, her tears falling to the floor like rain. "Good Sir Knight. I will do anything you want, no matter what, if you will only grant me the privelage of an early death. Please, don't any of you get it? I want to be with my Gourry. I want to be dead!" Finally, the Knight spoke. "Gee Lina, how are you going to be in two places at once, especially if one of them is dead?" Lina didn't seem to respond for a good two or three seconds, but her tears had stopped instantly. She slowly lifted her head. No one could miss the total devastation on her face, and the wierd light of hope in her eyes. That..., voice..? She turned around, painfully slowly, yet she couldn't move faster, the Knight letting go of her arms to let her move. She looked up into his face, his eyes, then fainted into his arms, whispering his name as she did so...

"Gourry..."

She was still looking into his face when she opened her eyes again. For a long time all she did was stare. He looked back, getting more unsure by the minute. Finally, he spoke. "Er, Hi...". "You..., Live...?" she whispered. "Err, yup! Why, did you think I was dead or something?" he asked in innocent sincerity. Lina lept up..., and landed a perfectly aimed punch dead in the middle of his forehead! He crashed to the ground with Lina leaping on top of him like a wild cat. She grabbed his collar and started shaking him as she screamed "YOUMORONICYOGHURTBRAINEDJELLYFISH! DO YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH?" She then gave a loud scream and fell into his arms laughing and crying all at the same time.

Gourry managed to wiggle up into a sitting position, Lina in his lap. When she slowed down for air he said "Well, I've been told something of what's been going on, but I guess I don't know it all..." She looked into his face with her tear filled eyes and laughed and hicoughed as she said "Oh Gourry, yes, I really did think you were dead, and you live, and now for the first time in a long time, so do I..." She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself a bit. Then, looking into his eyes she said "Gourry, why did you leave me there at the inn? I'm sorry I laughed, I didn't mean it the way it came across. I just meant I wasn't ready to answer your question that night... Do you remember what you asked me?"

Gourry looked confused then thought a bit. "Erm, well, it wasn't pass the food, we had none left, so let's see, maybe it was, no, hmmm, it had to be something important for you to remember it... hmmm. Oh I don't know, was it "Who's paying?" Lina screamed in frustration, holding her head with both her hands. Then she realised that Gourry was laughing and looked up to see the smirky smile on his face. "You do remember don't you? Please, please tell me you remember!" Gourry smiled at her with a broad open grin. "You don't forget asking the woman you love to marry you, Lina, even if you are a moronic yoghurt brained jellyfish" he said quietly. Lina reached over and hugged him and said "I deserved that..."

"Listen Gourry, you didn't understand. That night, I wasn't laughing at you, I was just too tired and hungry and depressed to think clearly. You should have waited till morning. I would have answered you then Gourry. And I would have said "YES!" Gourry, I was going to say yes..." Gourry looked sad. "I'm sorry Lina, I am sorry I blew it then, I love you more than life itself and I want nothing else than to be your husband and love you and cherish you forever." His eyes drooped to the ground in sadness. Lina lifted his chin so that he looked into her eyes and said "Gourry! You are doing it again! Listen you beautiful twit, the answer is still YES. It has been YES since that morning! I want you Gourry, I need you, strange as that may seem, I want to be your wife, to laugh with you, fight with you, run with you, sleep with you, wake up with you, even have your babies, and go through all of this adventure called life with you beside me! Gourry Gabriev! I Love You!" She went to kiss him..., and was stopped just short as a voice in the room said "Sounds like an exchange of vows to me."

Lina did a double take and realised for the first time that the room wasn't empty. King Alfred and Queen Gracia were there, as were Amilia, Zelgadiss, and Prince Phillionel. They were staring at them. Amilia was beaming a big smile, Zelgadiss had one of his rare bemused smirks on his face, Prince Phil seemed happy for them. Naga was giving her a strange bemused look, one eyebrow arched regally, and King Alfred seemed to be in thought. Suddenly the King strode forward to the couple seated on the floor. He stared down intently for a minute without saying anything. Lina gulped as the sweat drops started to pour down her forehead. Oh no! What if slaves weren't allowed to marry their masters? After a minute that only seemed like an eternity the King spoke. He got straight to the point. He looked at Lina and said "Do you want to marry him?" Lina gulped and said in a quavery voice "Yes..." The King instantly switched his gaze to Gourry and in the same commanding tone asked "Do you want to marry her?" Gourry also started to sweat as he smiled and put his hand behind his neck "Yes." he said. The King gave a dramatic little pause, looking stern, but with a bemused light in his eyes. "Your married!" he pronounced and walked back to the group.

Lina and Gourry were stunned. Zel and Phil laughed outright as Amilia tried to chide them for being unkind. It would have worked better if she hadn't been giggling too. Naga looked a the King with a puzzled expression and said "That's it?" "Yup" said the King. She continued to look at him, so eventually he went on "Well, why not? In this kingdom everyone who is licenced to perform marriages is granted their authority in my name, so if they have authority in my name, I, being me, have certainly got the authority as well. Also, as Lord Zel pointed out, they had already exchanged vows, so there really wasn't much left to do except make sure, and then pronounce. Finally, ever since she'd gotten here Lady Lina, or I suppose we should say Lady Gabriev now, has been moaning and bemoaning how she never got to say "yes" to her love when he asked her to marry him. She got so upset, in fact, that when she mistook the innocent remark of "he's gone..." to mean "he's dead", rather than the intended "he got up and left..." she then went on to mistake your kindness for interference, and ended up in such a state that she altogether lost it and tried to fireball you, my beloved Queen. Well, what else could I do? Here was the perfect opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands, now her problem is solved, and more importantly, my wife is protected, yes?" "Yes..." said the Queen, a little dizzy from following the convoluted speech. "So what's the problem?" asked the King.

"Oh, none I guess," replied the Queen. "I just imagined Lina would get married with more pomp, more, um, ceremony, somehow..." "So? She can have a public ceremony later. This is a private one for now to let her get on with her life, and us with ours. Still intact." Naga was silent for a minute, but obviously thinking. She looked over to Lina and a wicked, amuzed "Naga the White Serpent in full force" look came over her face and an ominous light was in her eyes. "Lady Lina Gabriev, nee Inverse!" she announced. "I know how I'm going to get even for that fireball! I'm going to..., PLAN YOUR WEDDING!" Lina, who had been sitting in stunned silence all this time, howled and hugged Gourry tight. "Please no! Have mercy..." she pled, and she ment it too... Naga gave a loud, triumphant laugh, oh yes, it was that laugh...

The King suddenly cut in and said "Hey! You're supposed to be saving that for ME!" Naga turned and looked at him, as the rest of the room stared in a puzzled fashion. The Queen threw her arms around the King and gave him a long, and frankly erotic kiss, careing not the least who was watching. She gave him a smokey look, one that he matched, and she said "Your wish is my command, my King. How glad I am that it is my wish too..." the King swooped his Queen into his arms like he was carrying her across a threshold. He turned and looked smuggly at the room and said "Goodnight all, see you in the morning..., maybe..." Naga gave a little laugh and kissed him hard as they dissapeared out the doorway.

Amila stared and said "Ahhh..." Zelgadiss likewise stared and said "Ohhh..." Even Phil joined in with an "Errr..." Then Amilia gave a giggle and tripped lightly over to Gourry and Lina. She gave them both a kiss and said "Congratulations you two! I just know you will be very happy!" Zel came over and shook Gourry's hand. "Well done Gourry!" he said. He went to shake Lina's hand but Amilia suddenly headlocked him and bent him down saying "Give her a kiss, Mr. Zelgadiss! It's the proper thing to do!" Not having much choice Zel did so then looked a bit stunned as he straightened up. "Wow" he said. "Sweeter than wine..." "Whatdoyoumeanbythat?" said a suddenly perturbed Amilia. "Alright Mister! You and I are going out for a walk, now! A long romantic one, got it?" "Yes dear" said Zelgadiss in his best henpecked voice. Amilia grabbed his hand and dragged him out. As he went he turned to Lina and gave her a wink and a smile. Prince Phil stepped up and said in a rumbly, happy way "Well, Congratulations you two! You will be very happy I know. Why I remember when I had my wedding night, it was a..." "DADDY! YOU TOO!" shouted Amilia, sticking her head in the door. "Oh, right, sorry..." said Phil a bit sheepishly as he scurried to the door. "Must leave them alone now, 'tis the only just thing to do..." With that he was out the door. A guard, looking a bit green around the gills from all the sweetness in the room, walked in and grabbed the door handle. He bowed and swung it shut, leaving a wide eyed Gourry sitting on the floor near the bed, with a wide eyed Lina in his lap, wondering just what was that light that had roared up from the end of the tunnel straight into them. They stared at the door for a long time, then at each other for a long time, then finally Gourry asked "Lina, what the hell just happened?" "Damned if I know..." was the response.

Ater a pause Gourry asked "Lina, did we just get married? I mean, you know, like, for real?" Lina paused a moment and then said "Yes, we did." Gourry looked at her with wonder and said "I thought there had to be a white gown and some old guy asking questions and stuff..." Lina smiled at him and said "Normally yes, but it isn't absolutely neccessary." She then lost her smile and went on "Actually, I think that stuff is coming later in our case, hand delivered by Naga the White Serpent..., not that I don't deserve that too..." She shuddered. "Gourry, you're going to have to help me out here. Acting emotionally, without thinking about what I was up to has been something I have done a lot as a teenager, but now I'm twenty one, and these past few weeks, and especially these past few hours, have really opened my eyes to the fact that that way of acting isn't going to get me much farther. I guess it's time Lina grew up a bit more, but it isn't going to be easy. Listen Gourry, you want to be my guardian right?" "Yep!" was the enthusiastic reply. "Then you have to be willing to guard me from all my enemies Gourry." "I will Lina." said Gourry simply. "Listen Gourry, this is important. I now know who my biggest enemy is." Gourry grew concerned and said "Who is it Lina? Tell me so I can protect you!" Lina was silent for a minute then said "It's me Gourry, I am my own worst enemy!" Gourry was perplexed. Finally he spoke. "Oi, Lina! Now that's going to take some doing! I'm not sure where to start even..." Lina smiled and said "Actually, you're doing fine so far. Love me, Gourry, and let me have my lead, but don't be afraid to reign me in when I need it okay? Even if I get mad?" Gourry thought a moment and said "Okay, Lina, I guess my forehead can take it." he said simply.

They looked at each other for a minute, then Gourry said "By the way Lina, where did you get that dress? It makes you look like the angel that woke me up." Lina smiled for a minute, remembering Trina's words, then she clued in to what Gourry had actually said, and was puzzled. "What do you mean Gourry?" "Well," he explained, "I was injured by some sort of weapon that attacked my soul, which was already hurt by thinking I had lost you." "Yes, a young man called Latimer told me your tale." Lina explained. "oh HO! You met Latimer did you? You know he's very modest, but he was totally willing to get into the thick of things. There were many times I would have lost but for the fact he stood beside me through thick and thin, but I'll bet he never told you that." Lina replied "No, he didn't, but he seemed to know a lot about how you fought, so I guessed that he might have been close to you. He brought me your sword, but alas, now I don't know where it went." "Hey, good old Latimer! Actually, the Blast Blade was under my hospital bed when I woke up. I've got it now, so don't worry!" Gourry smiled.

Lina smiled then said "What did you mean about an angel waking you up Gourry?" "Oh right!" said the blond swordsman. "Um well, when that weapon hit me it took the life right out of me and I almost gave up, but then I thought about how that evil maniac might attack you and the strength came from somewhere. I called your name and took out the rocks to make the avalanche. Somehow I got away, but with the arrow in my shoulder. After that, though I kept fighting, it was like I was sinking into some sort of emotional mud or something inside. I tried to fight it as long as I could, but eventually it overwhelmed me and, well, it's hard to describe. I felt like I was lying face down in a puddle of lukewarm mud. I had no will to get up, no will to move, no will to breath. Time had no meaning, it is as if I was just lying there in limbo, waiting to fade away. I was aware of nothing, just the black, lightless, warm mud. I had no pain, no pleasure, no desire, no meaning, I just was. I don't know how long I was that way either, but one day, gee, I guess it was just last night, a voice came to me, a voice that sounded like yours, only it was beautiful, like an angel's. Errr, not that your voice is , erm, I mean..., uh...," Lina gave him a hard stare then said, "Oh just get on with it..." "Well, uh, this voice penetrated the gloom, and I suddenly had something to focus on. It was a beautiful voice, and it sang about a love that was somewhere in the world for the singer and how she wanted to find it. I looked up, and there was a ray of light piercing the blackness, and you were there, dancing on the light, Lina. Only you had angels wings. You came down and held out your hand. It took an effort but I raised my hand and you took it, and suddenly I had the strength to stand, and then we were dancing in the light, and it was beautiful Lina. Then suddenly you let go and went up the ray of light again till it was a point at the top of a long tunnel, no more mud, and I heard you call as if in pain "Come back to me Gourry, I need you..." I didn't think twice. I ran up the tunnel. It took forever but eventually the light got bigger and I realised it was the opening. Finally, about, oh, ten in the morning or so I reached the top and woke up suddenly with a shout, jumping right up onto my feet."

"Boy, there were people everywhere, and did I ever have a time getting my bearings. Finally some highranking guy came in, I later learned he was the King's brother, and that he had been the one to take the arrow out of me. He said I was better, and had the staff get me washed and clothed and took me straight away to the main hall here, where he plunked me down at the head table with orders to eat. Well, I tell you, I just got started when a crowd came in. I nearly fell flat on my face when our dear Amilia jumped on me with a scream of happiness and hugged me like she'd just invented it or something. Zel and Phil were right behind trying to shake my hand off, and a few minutes later a tall lady walked in and Amilia ran and hugged her too, dancing up and down that I was awake. It took me a minute to realise it was Queen Gracia, and I didn't realise she was Amilia's sister either. Did you know that?" Lina nodded and said, "I'll tell you about it later."

Gourry went on. "Well, then the King came in and we had a big lunch, and we talked about everything that happened, and they kept saying stuff about someone who would be happy to see me when she woke up, but they didn't tell me it was you, so I didn't know who they ment. So we kept waiting and I kept eating and they kept asking me questions and stuff, then in the evening the doctor, what's his name, Erik? Prince Erik, yeah that's it, comes and asks me to come say "Hi" to a friend who's too sick to come to the table, and he takes me off and who's there but Sylphiel! I don't get it, something's wrong with her spirit, Lina, but anyway, she says "Hi" and we make some small talk and she says she's happy I'm better. But you know, it seemed to cause her pain to say that? I don't know... Anyway, the Prince stays with her, and I walk back to the hall and just as I get there I can hear you yelling at someone, and then you get real mad, like I've never seen before and then you toss that fireball and I'm not fast enough to stop you and then the King gets mad and makes you my slave, as if I'm going to ever be your master, or any man for that matter, and then you faint and now you've woken up and called me a jellyfish, and bopped me on the head, and now we are married and here we are and I don't know what else to say?" Lina did the only thing she could. She leaned forward and, finally, kissed him. Long and passionatly.

"Gourry..." she asked when they finally stopped, "did that song go like this?" She gave him a short kiss and sang the opening lines to her song. "That's it Lina!" said Gourry excitedly. "I did sing that to you Gourry, just last night, before I fell asleep. And I begged you to come back, and you did. Gourry, I Love You!" She kissed him agan."How could I not?" "I Love You too Lina." he replied, returning her kisses. Suddenly he caught her up in his arms and with a stagger rose to his feet. Lina yowped instinctively then calmed down as Gourry gently settled her onto the bed."Watch your shoulder!" she cationed. Gourry smiled and said "Actually, that did twinge. He looked down on her with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on his face. "So Lina, what happens next?" he asked, kneeling beside her.

Lina was startled, and her faced flushed. "Gourry, don't you know? I mean, about, about th-the "facts of life"?" she asked with a bit of a tremour in her voice. Gourry looked at her with a perplexed expression. "Huh?" he said. Lina looked desperate. "You know, how a man and a woman, uh..." "Make love?" asked Gourry. He then started to laugh. "Oi Lina! That's funny! Good joke! Ha, ha, oh I get it! I ment that as a general question, not, not, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha..." Lina at first breathed a sigh of relief and then got a bit perturbed as she waited for him to stop laughing. "It wasn't that funny..." she said. Gourry stopped and said with a smile "Well, maybe not, but yes Lina I'm afraid I do know about that..."

He then looked more serious and went on. "Lina, I hope you don't mind, but I'm not a virgin." "I had that feeling..." she said. "You see," Gourry went on, "When you are a mercenary, you wake up every morning and make a brave joke about how today is a good day to die, because your day is full of trying to bury your sword in someone elses body as he's trying to do the same to you. When you get off and find you are still alive you are in a strange state. You usually only get fed one meal a day, a poor breakfast, so you are hungry, then you fight all day and hope they bring the water, then if you make it off alive they throw a handful of coins at you, and that's it, unless you've been able to loot somewhere. Then you have to go to the crappy bars that follow your camp around, usually run by the same lord who pays you. So he gets his money back, see, and you eat, if they serve food, but you buy it, usually you just drink the watered down, over priced slop they serve for drink, because you are desperate to forget things, like all the brave young men you saw, and heard, and smelled, as they screamed their life out with their insides going where they aren't supposed to be, and all because they were doing what you are doing, fighting for money. And if you have any money left, and are sober enough to avoid the theives, there are women around who will be more than happy to relieve you of the rest in exchange for a shallow imitation of what should be holy." He was silent for a minute then said "I'm not a virgin Lina, but I regret it now." He laid his head on her lap.

She stroked his hair for a few minutes and then said "Gourry, I don't blame you and I'm not sorry. If you hadn't gone through all that you have in your life, both the good and the bad, you probably wouldn't be the man I love today. Let's look at it like this, you may have been with a woman before, but you've never been with one you loved, right?" "Yes, that's true..." said Gourry a bit puzzled, but relieved Lina wasn't going to be upset about his past. "Then this is the first time you've actually "made love", right?" she asked with a smile. He smiled back "Yeah! You're right Lina! Thank you!" They kissed again.

Lina seemed in thought and Gourry didn't know what to make of it so he waited. Finally Lina said "Gourry, these other women, what did they look like?" "Huh?" said Gourry, wondering why she needed to know that. "Well, err, um, not to be disrespectfull, but, uh, the Queen might have found a twin among them..." "I thought so." said Lina. "Did any of them look like me?" "No." he answered. "Gourry" she said softly, "I need you to be honest with me. There is no wrong answer, just tell me the truth, okay?" "Sure I will." he said quietly, worried about what it could be that bothered her. Lina paused a minute then went on, shyly "Gourry, what do you think of these?" she asked, loosening her dress and letting it tumble down so that Gourry could see her naked to the waist for the first time. There was silence, and Gourry got it, all by himself. "Oh," he said with a guilty blush.

"Those bad breast jokes... Listen Lina, at first I thought you were a little girl, and I was insensitive, then I admit it was fun making the occasional remark and getting you mad, you really went through the roof, you know..." "So I've heard..." Lina said quietly. Gourry went on "Then, when I first started realising that I had fallen in love with you I made some as a way to try and deny my feelings, because I didn't think I could ever have those feelings, then I fell for you, or more exactly I stopped kidding myself that I hadn't loved you from the moment I first met you on the road, where I saved you from the bandits, 'cause I think that's when I fell in love with you Lina. I did stop the jokes after I admitted to myself thatI love you." "I noticed Gourry, believe me I noticed. And I thank you for that..." Lina said, softly.

"So um, the answer to your question is this, when there is nothing but hire and purchase between a man and a woman then size matters because that's her main sales point, but when you fall in love with a woman, it isn't the size that matters, it's who they belong to. Without a doubt, they are the smallest breasts I have ever seen, and they are also the most perfect I have ever seen, because they belong to the smallest and most perfect woman I have ever met, Lina Inverse." Lina looked at him and could see in his eyes he was telling the truth. She moved forward and kissed him harder and longer than before. She then lay down and gently pulled Gourry on top of her and said "I'm ready..." "Eh?" asked Gourry. Lina smiled. "To become Lina Gabriev, of course." Gourry scratched his head. "You sure I don't become Gourry Inverse?" he asked, at least seeming to be serious. Lina stared for a minute, then pulled him into a kiss, and said "As long as it works, Gourry, as long as it works..."

Which it did, wonderfully... 


	20. tChapter19

Chapter 19 xxxxxxxxxx

They woke up in each others arms. Gourry pulled her close and whispered over and over again "Thank you, thank you..." while Lina stroked his hair and kissed him. Their eyes shone as they looked at each other. Life would never be the same again, but they were together now, beyond all sundering, except the final one that no mortal could refuse. Finally they got up. Lina rang the bell and soon they had a wash and clean clothes layed out. Lina said "Well, let's go get breakfast." Gourry looked out the window and said "Lunch you mean..." "Oh dear..." said Lina, sure that the Queen would have something suitably inappropriate to say. They walked out into the hallway together. Gourry took her hand and they walked forward, ready to meet the world for the first time as a couple. Just as they got to the hall Gourry suddenly pulled her around and swept her up into his arms and carried her in to the main hall, both of them giggling like kids.

The same crew was at the head table just as last night, and if it weren't for the fact they had changed their clothing Lina might have wondered if they had moved at all. Well, they were there at her "wedding" so they must have, but it didn't seem that way. Surprisingly, Erik and Sylphiel were with them. Oh, and this time there was a little carriage, Arthur was there too. As the newly weds entered the table rose and clapped and when Gourry set Lina down in her chair they gathered around to extend congratulations, and a few teasing comments. These mostly centered on whether the groom knew how to do his "duty" on the wedding night. After a short time the Queen announced "Rest assured, our Lina is truely his wife! I have the sheets!"

Lina did a double take and then buried her face in her hands. Most virgins bleed the first time, and Lina had been no exception. But keeping the sheets was something usally only done by royalty, so that there could be no doubt in cases of divorce as to whether the woman really had been a virgin on her wedding night, and whether the noble she had married had truely "done his duty". Merchants and farmers, Lina's stock, usually didn't put their daughters through that. So Lina was mortified, naturally, and said "Oh, that's disgusting Naga!"

"Majesty!" said the King in his no nonsense voice from last night. Lina sat bolt upright, now what? "H-H-HUH?" she asked. "I take it Sir Gabrieve hasn't has a chance to tell you all that has happened? Please, fill your Lady in, Sir Knight." Lina looked over to Gourry and said "Knight? Oh wait, he called you that last night..." "Erm, yeah, Lina, I didn't get a chance to tell you everything. Um, while we were waiting for you to show up His Majesty asked what I wanted to do with my life now that I was healed. I said I was tired of wandering, and that I wanted to settle down somewhere. He offered me a wagon train of gold and asked if I wanted to go back home and settle near my folks. Alas, I have no home. As you know, I took the Sword of Light and ran away from my family after hearing my brother and my cousin threaten to shed blood over who inherited it. Thus I lost my family. I have no home to go to. His Majesty thought a minute then said that there was a small manor near by that needed a knight, since the knight who had been in charge had fallen in the war. I said I supposed I could handle that, if I had help to know how to do it the Westhold way. An advisor was quickly found and has gone already to make the place ready for us to move into. But to take on the role, I had to be a Knight, like a for real Knight, and that meant swearing an oath to the King, and getting dubbed, and becoming a citizen of Westhold. I'm sorry Lina, you weren't here to ask, and I didn't know you were who they were waiting to surprise me with. So, I'm now a Knight of Westhold."

Lina's jaw had dropped open during the telling. "And marrying a citizen, especially a noble, conferes citizenship, Lady Gabriev..." said the King quietly. "Which makes you my King..." said Lina softly. "And My wife your Queen..." the King replied. "And therefore..." prompted Naga. Lina gulped. She had the helpless look of a hunted deer surrounded by the hounds as she looked around, but there was no escape. Naga the former White Serpent was now..."Y-Your Majesty..." she gulped, and buried her face in her hands again.

Naga gave a chuckle, well, it was her usual laugh, only toned down, surprisingly, and said "Oh, it's not as bad as all that Lina, why, I'll be able to resume your training as I now officially appoint you to be my apprentice!" "Huh?" said Lina looking up with a start. "As Royal Sorceress, a position I still hold, and am only temporarily taking a break from as I fulfill the equally important role of being the mother of the heir apparent!" here she pointed proudly at the carriage, then went on "I can name my apprentice, and Lina you are the only one who qualifies!" Lina smiled, a bit strainedly. "Yes, Y-Y-Your Majesty..." she said, forcing the words out, while choking back what she really wanted to say... Fortunately, the meal arrived and everyone set to with a good appetite and soon spirits all around the table began to lift. They talked about this, and that, and Lina got a little more used to her change of status, finally figuring what the heck, she would be with Gourry and just because Naga had it over her in name didn't mean she was really on top, she just thought she was. Then Prince Phil announced that he had to leave within two days and that he needed Amilia and Zelgadiss to return with him. Amilia was a bit sad leaving her sister, but it was Zel who dropped the long awaited bombshell.

"Your Majesty Prince Phillionel..." he said, "let's not beat around the bush. As you well know, I love Amilia, and as you also well know I can't marry her. I beg you, let me now go free while you take her with you when you go. I will go to the east to seek out what I may find, but I cannot bear the pain of being so close to one I want more than life, and can never have." There was shocked silence for a minute, then Amilia, predictably, started to cry, the moment she had dreaded had arrived at last. "Zel, please..." she said, then looked at the father. Phil cast his eyes down and said "Amiia, what can I do? I won't willingly set you, or my grandchildren up for a civil war. It would be different if we could at least be sure the children would be human, but we can't." There was a slight pause as Amilia prepared to respond. Into that tiny gap Naga threw her own bombshell.

"Can!" she said. With assorted variations of "What?" the whole table looked at her. She hung her head and spoke, obviously nervous. "I have a confession to make, you remember the hot tub night? It wasn't what it was made out to be..." "Huh?" said Gourry, everyone else was silent. "What are you saying, Gracia?" asked Amilia as Zel just looked on dumbfounded. "I mean, it was arranged." "The accident?" asked Zel, now looking angry. "And the aftermath?" hissed Amilia, looking dangerously angry. Lina blinked, hoping she didn't have to stop Naga from getting fireballed by Amilia this time. "So now it's coming out. I knew there was something going on..." she thought to herself. "Er, well, let me start at the begining okay?" said Naga, obviously nervous, and without her usual bravado.

"Lord Zelgadiss, do you remember we spoke on at least two occasions about your plan to leave?" "More like three." said Zel, cold as ice. "Yes, three, and do you recall I councilled you not to go until the full resources of Westhold were put to use on your problem?" "Look, Queen Gracia," Zel said, with as little respect as he dared, "I've seen your library! You have less in it than most libraries in the west, and certainly less than Seirune, and I found no help there!" "That pathetic library is NOT our resource!" Naga yelled at him in frustration as she slammed the table with her fist. "Don't you yell at Zelgadiss!" Amilia yelled back in anger, at her sister. "You just admited you tricked him, and now you hint at information unshared? Out with it now Gracia!" "Amilia!" said her father, shocked. "No daddy! You don't know what she did to us!" With that, despite even Zel's protest she gave a brief but accurate account of Zel's accidentally stumbling into the bath room and the drinking of the magic cup under threat of death. The room was silent after she was done, even Phil was shocked into silence as he stared at Gracia who had buried her face in her hands. The King made the next move."Hum, well, death or not, under the described circumstances it would not be for me to say. Gracia, as for usurping my perogatives, especially without telling me ahead of time, we will talk about that privately, I take it there was more to this "Cup of Priapas" than you let on?" Naga snivelled for a minute then said in a teary voice "I'm so sorry Lord Zelgadiss, but you made it quite clear you would not accept any cure or any help, and I did find something, but I-I'm..., not allowed to say...,"

Zel looked stunned, but Amilia wasn't detered. "You have a cure? YOU HAVE A CURE? And you can't tell us? Why should we believe you? And what did that cup really do to him Gracia? So help me if you've made it worse for Zel... I DON'T HAVE A SISTER!" she said, shrieking by the end. Her father spoke up "Amilia! Let Gracia finish, then you can judge!" Amilia looked sharply at him then bunched up her fists and shaking them with emotional tension she said "I'm sorry daddy. You are right, but when it comes to Zel it is hard to be just and impartial. Gracia, I'm sorry, please go on..." She looked at her sister, waiting. "Show me what you found, Your Majesty." said Zel quietly. Even Lina was listening intently, so much so that she had stopped eating. Gourry was lost, but realised it was not the time to ask so he just stayed quiet and looked around. Prince Erik and Sylphiel were also silent at their end of the table. Gourry was surprised by the way Sylphiel's eyes never seemed to leave the Queen...

Naga went on "My Lord the King. I asked you once for permission a couple of weeks ago. You did give it, somewhat grudgingly, but I cannot cross you in this, so, now I beg. We cannot hide its existence forever, and now we have to worry about the west as well as the east wanting it. I trust my family, and I know that Seirune will be of great help with this. Together we can even use it better! They will be loyal, and, and...," Her voice dropped to a desperate whisper as she took the King's hands. "I want to help my sister, Alfred, please? Please?" The King gave her a sharp look, then glanced over to Prince Erik, who said "His Majesty knows my mind..." The table was silent. Finally King Alfred spoke. "As we discussed, weeks ago now, I see both good and evil in either course." He gave a sigh of resignation and at last said "Very well..." Naga jumped up and hugged him, the tears of relief and joy too genuine to be doubted. "Thank You my Beloved!" she said.

King Alfred smiled and gently sat her down, then stood up and looked at everyone. "I charge this table thus." he said. "What you are about to see is the greatest secret we possess. If you look on it you will automatically be under a blood oath to tell no one anything about this. You will not admit you know anything, you will not admit you even know Westhold has such a secret. You will not mention it, even to those who know the secret, outside of safe places where you cannot be overheard, and even then you will only mention it in needful situations and with language designed to hint to those who know, but not to reveal anything outright. If you break faith, your rank or position will mean nothing, no matter how long it takes, you and your spouses and children will be hunted down and put to death. Those of you not wanting to take such an oath, stay here, those who can bear it, follow us." After pronouncing these terrible words he looked around once more, then, taking the Queen's hand, he said "May the Royal Sorceress lead us on."

Naga dropped a low curtsey and said a quiet "Follow me..." and, pausing only long enough to take up baby Arthur, left the hall in the direction of the ancient tower. The whole table got up, even Sylphiel seemed more animated and followed, placing herself behind the King and Queen. Lina hung back a bit, then decided to go, but turned and grabbed some food on the way out, the poor thing was hungry after all. As a result she and Gourry were a bit behind the others.

Gourry looked at the group ahead and said to Lina "Hey, what's with Sylphiel? Somethings really wrong..." "Near as we can figure she was shocked at the battle we had on the cliff face and hasn't recovered." was Lina's reply. "What shock?" asked Gourry. Lina told him a very simple account of the battle as they continued to walk along. She concluded by saying "We found her, and it was hard to say what was wrong, we think she got knocked in the head by the blast, but since then she hasn't been herself. It's like someone else is in there." Gourry stopped. Lina stopped and looked at him. "Gourry?" she asked. "Lina, I know her, and I saw what a shock she took when Sairag was attacked, and when her father was killed, no, no, that's not her. Lina, it's not someone else..., it's someTHING else...," "Something else? Gourry, that's ridiculous." "Lina, does Sylphiel know any offensive spells?" asked Gourry. "Well, she has tried to learn the Dragon Slave, but thankfully she didn't do too well. I mean she couldn't event shoot a Flare Arrow without trying to not hurt the evil doers by turning it into a Flare Carrot. Anyway, she's a white mage and they don't have any offensive spells"  
Suddenly, someone in her brain screamed "Are you sure?" "Well, let me think...," said Lina. She thought about Sylphiel, something nagging at her now. The girl was a tallented white sorceress, knowing her colour of magic at least as well as Lina knew the black side. She would have known her magic to the highest level, and that would mean..., and that would mean..., She looked up and the awful truth slowly unfolded itself. All magic ultimately came from the same source. All magic had at it's highest level the magic of directly calling upon the Golden Lord of Nightmares Herself! By rights, that magic knew no colour and all practitioners would have equal access to it. Including..., that spell... "But I sealed it away!" Lina said in fright. "What?" asked Gourry. "The Giga Slave! I sealed the spell away!" she said "Could it be unsealed?" he asked. "Only by someone very determined, with a lot of power, and able to still their emotions." said Lina. "Sylphiel has the power, and I suppose our plight could have made her determined, but, she's too emotional!" "What if she had help?" asked Gourry, not sure what to make of it. Lina looked at him and said "Who could..." Suddenly she staggered back and repeated Gourry's words "It's not someone else..., it's someTHING else..." She was so shocked she even dropped her food.

She turned and ran, screaming at her husband "RUN GOURRY!" They dashed along the corridor as fast as was humanly possible and arrived just as Naga was begining a chant. "NAGA!" Lina screamed. "BY THE GOLDEN LORD, SHUT UP!" The group turned, stunned, as Lina launched herself into a flying tackle and crashed full force into Sylphiel knocking her to the ground with a solid thump. Before anyone could react Lina had the poor girl by the throat and was screaming "I figured it out! I figured it out. It was Sylphiel! She threw that spell at the cliff! It was a Giga Slave! She knows that spell! She broke my seal somehow, and threw it! But she could never do that alone! She had help! And now she's possessed! Get out of her you evil spirit! Get out, or I'll kill her myself rather than leave her to your torment!" As she screamed she tightened her grip on the throat of Sylphiel. The others were shocked to silence by this, but even more by the fact that, though awake, Sylphiel did not resist. No human would have been able to hold back fighting to breath, it is an instinct too deeply built in to be ignored, but Sylphil didn't. They stared wide eyed and let Lina do what she had to. Zelgadiss and Amilia prepared their most powerful spell, the Astral equivalent to the Dragon Slave, the mighty Ra Tilt! That demon had to come out sooner or later...

For some reason Lina looked into Sylphiel's eyes and thought she saw the being inside of her. She then said something so unLina like, for the circumstances, that even she didn't know where she got it from, divine intervention maybe? As she tried to choke the demon out of Sylphiel she said to it "Please?" Well, that did it! Suddenly an insane giggle filled the room and a voice said "Only Lina Inverse would say "Please" to an evil spirit! Oh all right, don't hurt your friend I'm coming out..." With that a face, then a form emerged from Sylphiel and suddenly a being stood up and walked right out of her. Now Sylphiel came alive. She gave a strangled gasp and her hands flew up to Lina's. The red haired woman let go unconciously as she stared at the being in shock. Prince Erik was at her side in a flash and scooped Sylphiel up and got her out of the room. Lina stood up, still staring at the face of evil, and a very familiar face it was too, from the black, page boy locks on it's, or was it his, head, to the smirking, giggly mouth. But what was most noticable were the almost permanently closed eyes...

Suddenly she struck like a snake, grappling the being into a headlock! "What the hell is the big idea, XELLOS?" she shrieked, louder even than she had earlier. "I didn't even know you guys could possess people like that!" The mazoku trickster priest, who was well known to Lina, too well known, giggled some more, enjoying Lina's emotions as she tried in vain to hurt him with the headlock. "Well, Lina! You don't expect us to reveal all our secrets at once do you?" Lina sighed, and let him go. "Get out of the way Lina, we'll blast him!" said Amilia, with a peculiar note of anticipated enjoyment in her voice. Lina said "I want some answers first. Xellos, why?" "Simple, I want some answers too." the mazoku said. "What does that mean?" snapped Lina. "Well," said Xellos, with a smirk and a wave of his finger, "It's a secret." "I'm stepping aside now Xellos," said a disgusted Lina, "I hope they hurt you but good." "Oh but Lina, in this case, that IS the answer!" he said. She paused. "How?" Xellos explained, in his own fashion, of course. "Whatever is in that chamber, there are magic wards on it that have barred the Mazoku entry to it. We can't see into it and we can't enter it. I think that, hidden in the young priestesess body I might have made it, except you guessed. Oh well...

By the way, I was only borrowing it until I had this chance, I really didn't want to be trapped inside there for the rest of her life, she's far too sweet, it's rather nauseating actually." Xellos shivered involuntarily at the thought. "Well rest assured, we will learn the secret one day Lina, it was almost today, but, alas you were too much for us." Lina opened her eyes wide in surprise. "There's something you don't know?" she said in wonder. Xellos smiled, then said, "Well, I must go report my failure, bye for now, oh, and Lina, congratulations on you wedding! I should have addressed you as Lina Gabriev a moment ago, my apologies." He turned as if to go, and then suddenly looked back over his shoulder. "Friendly word of warning Lina." he said. Suddenly his eyelids snapped opened and his violet eyes filled the room with the shock of evil. Lina stepped back, putting up her hand as if to ward a blow, Amilia raised her's to her throat as if she couldn't breath, forcing her to drop her Ra Tilt. Zelgadiss raised his hands to launch his, but Lina was still in the way. Xellos spoke again "The next time we try for the chamber, we will remember to take you into account..." With that he disappeared and the room could breath again.

Lina dropped to her knees and trembled until Gourry found his legs and ran to her, hugging her. Zel dropped his Ra Tilt too, and held Amilia while she got her breath back. Naga had slowly sagged to the floor in all of this and was being held in a sitting position by the King who was kneeling beside her, and baby Arthur was safe in his grandfather's arms. The chill passed and they all began to recover. The one who was hardest hit was Naga as she had almost revealed everything to a hidden enemy. She had so wanted to settle the matter for Zel and Amilia that she had forgotten to ask their help in detecting if any evil was present before she began. Only Lina had saved the day, and the look of pure gratitude she gave Lina was genuine.

"Ah, heck, I was just making up for my failure at the cliff..." Lina laughed, but none-the-less she was pleased with herself. Gourry hadn't been back a day, truely back, awake and alert, that is, and already things were getting back to normal. She and the King helped Naga stand. Naga looked pitiful as she turned to her husband and said "You should fire me, I never meant to be the one who gave the secret to the supreme enemy." He gathered her into his arms and soothed her and said "No, even if the enemy had found out, you wouldn't get fired. You are the strongest sorceress we've ever had. What I would do, and in fact what I am doing is giving you an assignment, make new and better wards." "I will." she said. "As soon as I can... OOOF!" The last was because Lina suddenly dug her elbow into Naga's ribs.

"Hey Naga! I mean "Your Majesty", you forgetting you have a fully functioning "apprentice" to mentor?" she said. Naga looked at Lina, still hugging the King and replied, "Hmph, first I better see if you are ready for the task..." "You! You're going to test me?" Lina frowned. "Well, I can't just let any plain magician take on such important work can I?" Naga said, with a straight face. Lina looked at her and clenched her fist with impatience. "Get your power back Naga, I mean Your Majesty..." she said, the under current of her voice carrying the unspoken promise of yet another Lina/Naga magic fight. "Be that as it may," said the King softly, getting back to business, "let's have the functioning magic users scan the area for evil, and if we are clear, let's get the portal open and shut again." With that, Amilia, Lina, and Zelgadiss put out their magical energies. It was clear. Naga drew herself up, and stood in the middle of the magical lines carved on the floor of her tower. She chanted some magic phrases in a peculiar tone, and in a language not known to anyone presesnt. Suddenly, a black orb swelled like a bubble and enveloped them, then with a "pop" it dissapeared, leaving the gang in a chamber they hadn't seen before. "Behold the chamber of learning..." said Naga quietly, but dramatically.

The room was plain enough, a circular chamber as big around as the rest of the tower, but somehow it seemed to be in a different dimension, or on a different level of existence. It was plain, stone walls, and a smooth ceiling, the floor was the same floor with all the crossed magical lines on it, just like in the tower. "The floor must be the link..." thought Lina, who noticed with interest that all the magical lines were glowing softly at once. Against one wall was a small altar, and behind it were two rectangular slabs of polished green stone. Lina instantly recognised they were of the dimensions known as the "Golden Rectangle." They were side by side, with their long dimensions up, in a simple metal framework of a silvery coloured metal, but it was not silver. Lina didn't think she had seen it before. But the stone was what caught her eyes, it was a shiney green stone that seemed to both absorb and reflect light. There was a power inside it, Lina could feel it. That was what made the light act funny, she knew. She went forward for a good look. She felt compelled to reach out to the thing. "Do not touch the Emerald Tablets of Thoth." said Naga quietly.

Lina stopped. She stared back with her eyes wide open, and her mouth too. She turned back and stared. "But they are legends" she said at last. "Most legends have a basis in fact." said Naga. "And some facts become legends because they are simply forgotten. The tablets were made ages ago, by Thoth, or what ever his name really was, and by some magical force they are attuned to all the magic in the universe. They contain all the knowledge that is contained in the famous Claire Bible, which some think contains all the magical knowlege there is. It does not. There are whole fields of magic which are outside it's scope, such as ancient magic from an age undreamed of, the first age after the creation when magic had not sorted itself out and all magic was esentially the magic of the Golden Lord." Lina was so stunned she didn't know what to say. "Is my cure in there?" asked Zelgadiss quietly. "Stand before the tablets and ask." said Naga. Zelgadiss did so. "How do you make a human who has been turned into a chimera back into a human"  
Words suddenly appeared on the tablets. Zelgadiss read "By the "Spell of Remorphing."". "What is the Spell of Remorphing?" he asked, wonder and excitement in his eyes. New words floated up. He was puzzled. "Sacrifice? You need a sacrifice to give me the answer? What sacrifice?" He read the answer and stepped back looking shocked. He turned to the Queen, a questioning and horrified look in his eyes. The Queen answered quietly "You can find any spell you want, if it exists, including spells that will destroy the world, or enslave it to your will. If you can pay the price. It is horrible" Zel shook his head. "I will not sacrifice a human. What is this? How can I find a cure now?" There were some gasps in the room. Naga replied "First, you now know one exists beyond all doubt. Second you know what you are looking for. And third, someone had to invent this spell to begin with, you have at your disposal this resource and the resources of Seirune. Perhaps I can suggest you stay home and reinvent it? That doesn't take a human sacrifice."

Zel looked perplexed. "How can this help if I have to sacrifice people to it?" The Queen responded "Not all questions require sacrifice. I have asked many times what the results would be if I cast this new spell, or that new spell, and it will tell me without any demand. You can test your spells without having to cast them. It also often answers general questions with no, or only small demands." "And that cup?" asked Zel. "Let me explain" said Naga. "Ages ago, when magic was powerful beyond what we know now, chimeras were plentiful. They were tough and made good soldiers, some had special magical powers. But over time a problem developed as the chimeras, who were human to start with, wanted to have families. And they wanted human families. But not all could be turned back or else their kingdoms would be defenceless. So a doctor of magic and medicine named Priapas, now you know where that legend came from, invented a potion that would return the chimera's ability to have human babies. That is what I gave you."

Lina stood there, silent, as she looked around the room. Gourry's hand was on her shoulder, and she was glad for it. Of course, he had a look on his face that indicated he wasn't following this, but then, he didn't know about Zel and Amilia yet. Amilia had both of her hands together in front of her mouth, looking like she didn't want to breath for fear of loosing hope. King Alfred looked interested, but not too surprised. Price Phil was unreadable. Naga looked like she sincerely wanted the blue chimera to believe her. But Zel remained sceptical. He spoke. "After so many failures, after such loss of hope, pardon me if I ask for proof. Show me the formula, Your Majesty." "Ask for it yourself, Lord Zelgadiss, then you can judge better if I have told the truth." she replied. Zel nodded and said "You are right."

He proceeded to ask for the formula for the cup of Priapas while Naga walked over to take her baby back from her father. Zel read his answer and started to frown. "It calls for a drop of innocent blood, whatever that is." Naga had moved over beside the little altar as she waited for Zel to read. She seemed to adjust little Arthur when he suddenly gave a squeal of pain and started crying. Naga quickly wiped something off of his little heel and on to the altar as what appeared to be a little needle dropped to the floor. Whatever she put on the altar was suddenly consumed by a magical fire which sprang up all by itself as she walked, trembling with each step to the King and handed him the still crying baby, then sank to the floor at his feet, and started to cry. The King was dumbfounded but took the baby.

"Hey! He's bleeding!" he said in shock as he took Arthur's little heel. He looked down in shock at Naga, then over to the still flaming altar. Lina got it. "The baby is innocent!" she exclaimed. She looked at the tablets and said "Zel, there's your answer!" The chimera turned and looked. Amilia came over and looked too, as did Prince Phil. Meanwhile, King Alfred had gotten over his shock and sat down beside his wife. "Please sit up." he said to her gently. "I'm so sorry." she weeped back from the floor. "Please don't hate me, I love our son, but, I love my sister too..." The King said again "Please sit up." The Queen did so but still couldn't meet his eyes. King Alfred handed baby Arthur back to her, he was fussing to be in her arms. She took him and hugged him to her, sobbing her apologies. The King hugged her and their baby and said to her "Hush Gracia, I do understand what you did and why you did it, only next time, just tell me first, okay? Don't forget, I know what it is to love a sister too." Naga looked up and a light seemed to shine upon the King from her tear filled eyes. "I don't deserve you." she said. "But I am glad you are mine. I love you." The King smiled, and gave her the only appropriate answer there was, he kissed her.

Lina looked up at Gourry, who looked down at her. They kissed as well, murmuring their love to each other. There was a loud throat clearing and everyone looked over to Prince Phil who stood between a nervous looking Zelgadiss and Amilia. "It is plain to me that the formula most likely works, and has been sealed with royal blood, not once, but twice, I suspect." He looked at his eldest daughter as he said that. "Therefore, after careful consideration, I have reached the following decision." Then, without a word, which was unusual enough to mark what was happening as special indeed, he took Amilia's hand and put it in Zel's. Amilia looked up at her father, wanting to believe so badly. "Really daddy?" she whispered. Phil smiled and nodded. Amilia gave a shout of pure joy and jumped on poor Zel, kissing him, and hugging him, and laughing, even as she cried. "Boy, I understand that feeling!" said Lina. "Amen" responded Naga as they all wandered over to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Zel seemed the most dumbfounded, about all he could say was "Well, I guess I can stay home after all..."

Amilia hugged everyone several times and thanked her father more than once, or even twice! Finally all agreed the business in the chamber was done and they stated that they understood the need for secrecy too. Shortly thereafter a black bubble formed and burst back in the chamber of the tower and they were back in the normal world. Lina and Naga exchanged glances. That chamber was going to get thoroughly researched! "Well, Your Majesty," said Lina, "I see you haven't been living a dull life in my absence!" Naga replied in a matter of fact voice "Some of us have to do real work while others are amuzing themselves by blowing up mazoku lords." Lina did a double take, gave a frown, then thought the better of it and gave a chuckle. "Are we ever going to change?" she asked with a giggle. "How do you change perfection?" asked Naga back, with a wink. The rest of the crew, having been busy with their own conversations, gave them some curious looks as the two women broke out laughing.

They walked out to the garden with the gazebos and talked the afternoon away. There was much to discuss, how to further relations between the two kingdoms being big on the adgenda. Lina found out that the little fiefdom Gourry was being put in charge of was responsible for maintaining the royal stud, the all important herd of stallions that were used to make sure the best horses possible were always bred, so they could be used by the King and the other knights. Gourry didn't mind, he had worked with horses on his family's farm when younger, and Lina also found out they were going to be a comfortable day's ride, which meant a short Ray-wing, from Stronghold, so both privacy and ease of communication were not going to be a problem. Lina found that made her very glad for some reason.

At one point she managed to slip away with Gourry and ended up in the garden with the shrine to the unknown god. After trying to explain to Gourry in simple terms what it was all about she approached the altar and knelt before it "Thank you." she prayed. "I don't know if you are a rock or the ear of a god, but somehow things always work out when I call upon you. I don't know, maybe I just focus better when I talk to you, but I hope you are listening somehow." Gourry also knelt looking a bit uncertain, but said "I don't understand exactly, but I thank you too, if you brought Lina back to me, and me to her." They were silent for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts. They then looked at each other, and kissed...

Eventually they made their way back to the others. Naga arched an eyebrow but Lina said only that they were thanking the unknown god for his blessings, and that seemed to satisfy. Finally the sun was in the western sky, still high up, as it was end of summer, but you could tell the days were getting shorter. The supper hour was struck and the party slowly made their way to the familiar table in the hall. The place had been decked out and the King explained that they were expecting guests, two people that had helped with the war. They all took their places and waited for the arrival. While they waited they continued to talk. At some point Naga asked Lina "So, Lady Gabriev, on our little nature walk some five weeks ago now, you mentioned how your family started out on a farm. I grant that the royal stud isn't a grape farm, but it is a farm none the less, how does it feel to have come full circle?" Lina put her hand behind her neck and said with a nervous giggle "Er, well, I suppose it isn't full circle unless we lose it..."

"Hey!" said Amilia, who apparently was listening despite the fact that she had a Death Grip of Righteousness on Zel. "Is it time yet?" "Time?" asked Lina. "Yeah." Amilia replied. "Time to tell us your big mysterious life story!" Lina gulped. "Er well..." "Oh please do, Lina!" put in Naga. "You make it sound so mysterious and tragic. I want to know if your sister really is the monster you say she is, or if you've been using her memory as a bit of a dump for all your fears." "Well, both..." said Lina guardedly, desperately trying to think of how to get out of it. Finally she gave a sigh and said "I suppose I have been alluding to my past a lot haven't I? Okay, I'll give you a short version." She took a breath, squeezed Gourry's hand and started.

"As I told you on the road, Your Majesty, my father's father, and his father had a major falling out, resulting in the loss of the farm for my grandfather. He worked himself to death trying to set up a new one, leaving his son to carry on at an early age with a poor piece of soil. My dad did what he could, and at first it seemed like he might make it too, he even did well enough to get married at one point. But, like all men in Zephielia, he was a soldier of the eternal queen, and being a swordsman of note, he even made it into the regiment known as the "Swordsmen of the Eternal Queen". Quite an honour, and got him some more pay. But, alas, these were the years of boarder clashes with Elemikia and Seirune and he was away from the farm too much. Then followed the three hard winters everyone still remembers. The poor farm, already run down, fell through the floor, and dad had to sell it. It was hard on my sister I think, and my mom too, but for all the years I lived at home, she never stopped smiling. Alas, I have recently heard that this was no longer the case, ever since I have left home."

She looked at the Queen and said "Please, please Queen Gracia! Grant me a gift of time that I may go and make it up to her?" Naga almost winced at the phrase "Queen Gracia" and said "Coming from you that doesn't sound right, somehow. Well, as for the time, of course, I think we should let you and your brave Knight have a chance to have a honeymoon and see your families. But please go on." Lina thanked the Queen and then carried on. "Well, we ended up moving into town where my parents had to rent a poor little house. I say we because I was already growing under my mother's heart by then, and soon after they moved in I was born. I think my parents were delighted, but my sister Luna seemed to resent my birth. I don't exactly know why, I think she missed the farm and had taken the idea to heart that if I was a boy the farm would mysteriously be given back to her. After all she was only four.

At this time my dad got apprenticed to a merchant of note, and started being away a lot. I was way too little to remember much of this, I do have some little girl memories of my mom cuddling me. Then the merchant died, and after his partners took their cut the merchant's family wanted their money too. Somehow my dad convinced them that if they would let him buy the company they could make more money, so he entered into a deal where he would pay them so much at regular intervals, and they wouldn't break up the company or it's precious name and reputation as long as he ran it well, and after so much money was paid, he'd get title.

Now this is when the trouble started, he needed help, big help, and couldn't hire anyone. So mom got pressed into service. Now both my folks were away a lot and Luna, at seven, was pressed into being my care giver. It wasn't a good idea, she was too young, but there was no other choice. I mean I do have other relatives, but a lot weren't talking to us since way back when grandpa had his falling out, and the few who were were rather distant, and had their own lives, so we were stuck. Alas, poor Luna. If I had been a passive child, sort of a living doll, we'd have been fine, but she has a personality like mine, and when you are kids, well, if we were bulls we'd be butting heads to the death I think.

Mom tried to steer us in the right direction when she was home, but since the only way to get money for the rent, the payment to the relatives, and for food and clothing was for her to work she wan't there most of the time. Eventually we learned not to tell her of our squabbles. And until things got out of hand when I was ten we made out okay, we didn't always fight, we even had times we could play together, but it was always tense.

Then, when I was age six, my magic started to develop. My mom was a sorceress, not as powerful as me, but I think that might have had to do with getting married and having babies instead of studying. Naturally she and I had a bit of a bond which I think Luna resented as well, for all she was real close to dad, him being a swordsman, and her a Knight of Ceiphied! One of only five in the whole world! Anyway, with mom's help I got to take magic lessons, first with an old woman in the village, then when I was ready, and probably when my parents could afford the more expensive tuition, at the local chapter of the Magician's Guild. And I did well.

I seemed to take to magic like a duck takes to water, as the saying goes. And it was fun enough to offset the tension at home too." She sighed. "After age ten it all changed, and the beatings started. Then our fights got serious, and by age thirteen it was so bad that when Luna caught me doing something stupid she was able to blow it out of proportion and I left home. If I knew then what I know now she'd have never budged me, but I was only a little girl"  
She was silent for a bit. She then looked over to Naga and said "This is why I left. One day, at age thirteen, I was swimming with some of my girlfriends, naked of course, and as we were all starting to change from girls into women it was only to be expected that one of the girls was rather developed. Of course that became the topic of discussion. We talked about, you know, women and how they change, the swellings, the hair, bleeding, and boys. And whether you really could get pregnant from kissing..."

There were knowing smiles from the other women at the table and Lina went on. "It ended up we started touching ourselves and the well developed one in the chest, trying to figure out what was going on. Heh, actually, I'm more developed now than she was then, but, uh, they looked hugh, you know? And as we talked and touched we started to tease each other. Then the daring started. Somehow it transpired that I was dared to kiss the developed girl full on the lips. I did it, like I was going to turn down a dare? I don't know what she was thinking, but she, um, used her tongue, real quick like, just to freak me out. And she succeeded.

I got so mad the others ran away screaming, I knew the fireball by then, and it was well known I knew it. What I didn't know was that Luna, going by on business of her own, had seen the kissing and stuff. As I huffed out of the water and started getting dressed she showed up. My first thoughts were that I'd get beaten, but she started spinning this wierd story about how I was doomed to love women now, and not boys, and what would the other girl's parents think if they found out what I was doing, and how could I be so terrible, and mom and dad weren't going to forgive me, I was going to be kicked out of the magician's guild now, and I'd be an outcast in Zefielia forever. As you may know, many Zefielians do tend to look on people who like their own sex as being a bit, um, evil somehow. So, I was scared, and Luna played me like a harp. Well, but I was only thirteen then.

Finally I broke down and started crying, and I asked what I should do. She said something about my destiny lying in the world outside of Zefielia, so I decided the time had come and I packed up what few things I could carry, some food, clothes, my doll, those bunny slippers, stuff that was important to a thirteen year old girl, and, basically I ran away from home. Since then I have been living hand to mouth, using my magic and making a living. But you guys know most of that. We met, when? I was still thirteen maybe?" she asked looking at Naga. "Not quite turning fourteen, I think." the Queen replied.

Lina went on "Yeah, maybe, I don't quite remember, and we toured for a bit less than two years, then there were a couple of months after we parted, then Gourry showed up when I was fifteen and a half, and, well, here we are!" she concluded, giving her husband a big hug. "Wow..." said Amilia. "Lina, if there is anything we can do to help, name it." Lina smiled and said "I need to go home. I need to talk to everyone as an adult now. And it won't hurt to have Gourry with me as my husband." The King spoke up. "Well, I think a honeymoon trip would be in order, but I won't have a knight of the realm slink around. You will get a small honour guard and the loan of one of our finer carriages. You are a Lady now, Lady Lina, and going to ask your family for forgivenenss or not, you will look the part. Besides, I think Sir Gourry has a bit of business with his own family to take care of too."

"Yeah, and thank you, Your Majesty." said Gourry. Lina took Gourry's hand and said to him "Oh Gourry! I'm sure your family will forgive you. I mean you only took the Sword of Light to stop your brother from shedding blood with his cousin, and now it's gone back to it's true owners, so they have nothing left to fight about anyway." "I hope so, Lina." said Gourry. "I hope so." "Well, no matter what happens, you have me, so you still have a family that loves you." Gourry smiled at Lina as she said that. "Thank you" he said quietly.

A discussion followed, and it was eventually decided that Lina and Gourry would take the road to his parents farm to start, then they would go on to the island of Mispros where Lina wanted to show Gourry a very important statue that had something to do with his past, and then they would end up in Zephielia about six weeks after their departure. At first they planned to head home, but Amilia said that she and Zel, along with daddy, figured they would have their wedding ready in about eight weeks, so the final plan was to have Lina and Gourry link up with King Alfred and Queen Gracia as they headed through Zephielia on their way to the wedding, then they would all go home together, and get on with life. "Oh wonderful!" said Naga to her sister. "You will be getting married about the time the leaves start falling, it's going to be absolutely beautiful!" There was a general agreement that this was the best way to get over the war and cement the friendship of Westhold and Seirune. Lina thought it a grand idea, but couldn't figure out why Naga gave her that funny look. Then Zel spoke up. "Lina, not to be a troublemaker, but you know, you never did tell us what happend when you were ten..."

Lina put her hand behind her head and laughed nervously. "Oh, didn't I? Er, ummm..." "Well, if it's private it's okay." said Zel. Lina thought a minute then said "Well, it is, but you probably should hear it so you know why there was such violence between us, but I want you all to promise me one thing. If you ever meet my sister Luna, you will never, ever, tell her I told you anything." They all nodded agreement to this, and Lina went on. "Well, one spell I picked up about that time was how to do shadow projections." There were some "Oh's" from the audience. "Yeah, well, long story short I had a fight with Luna one morning and the mad lasted into the afternoon. I don't remember what the fight was about, but she was rushing to get to work and I was being a brat or something, so we fought. She probably called me a changeling again or something, but I was mad.

I did my studies at the Magician's Guildhall and was stomping through town to go home when some of the boys who knew Luna asked where she was. I knew that she would have gotten off work a bit earlier in the day, like she always did, and as usual she went to a small hot springs that had a water fall that people used for bathing. It would have been the women's hour about then, if I remember. I was so ticked off that I did a shadow projection of Luna, and they could see her at the hot springs getting dressed. I then yelled something like "There! She's getting dressed and will be along shortly! Are you happy?" It was their silence and the stunned looks on their faces that clued me in to the fact that something had happened. They asked if I could do it again. I asked why? They said they wanted to see more of her. I got mad again, but before I exploded a kid offered me a shiney penny! Big money when you are a little kid. I felt better right away! I could make money like this!

So I did it again, but now she was dressed and walking home. The guys seemed dissapointed and I figured out they wanted to see Luna without her clothes on. Now that set my evil little heart going! I knew she wasn't supposed to be naked in front of people. I thought this would be a way to embarass her. I thought she looked funny naked and I thought that the boys thought so too, and wanted to see more because they too couldn't believe what they saw. So, without really realising what I was doing to her I agreed to meet them the next day at a certain secluded spot and show them more. And they promised me more pennies too. That cinched the deal. Well, we met, there were a lot more guys, but hey, they each gave me a penny and soon my apron was full of more money than I had seen in my life. I laughed and did my thing.

This time we were earlier, and they saw everything, her disrobing, her showering, drying herself off, brushing out her long purple hair, the way she teased the bangs she always wears down in front of her eyes, and dressing again. Then the show was over. They guys seemed stunned, or something. They made me promise to return tommorrow. I did and it happened all over again. We kept this up for almost a week. Then the last day happened. I don't know how Luna found out but she did. But I don't think she knew until after that last shower because she really put all out, thinking she was alone. She did an extra long one that day, and after it was over I went and hid the money as usual, then came home. As usual, she was home before I got back from hiding my loot. Usually she'd ask me where I was and I'd say playing or something and that seemed to be it. That afternoon however, she said nothing. I didn't think much of it at first, until it occured to me that she had closed the door after me, and locked it.

I turned to face her and the look on her face was so horrible and angry that I just about died of fright. For a long time afterwards I often wished that I had. She had this horrible look on her face, she was obviously too upset to speak, and she had her wooden practice sword in her hands. And she had had lots of practice by now being a Knight of Cephied. I don't remember too much after that except curling into a ball to try, unsuccessfully, to protect myself as blow after blow rained down on me. She knew where to hit for maximum pain and minimum bruising, so that when my parents came home two weeks later there was nothing to show. But the thing that ruined me for life was the fact that she made me give her all my money. I wasn't angry with her any more after that. I was scared. Too scared to tell on her. Too scared to seek revenge. That's when she got the upper hand and kept it. I lived in fear.

Lina was silent for a few seconds as the others shook their heads. "There were a few more milder beatings, but they were enough to re-inforce the fear. Near as I can figure she went and took revenge on the boys who watched her. Which meant she had to go after nearly all the boys in town. Then she discovered that the boys weren't without their own resources. They couldn't confront her directly, but they could be underhanded. Usually they went to her restaurant and would order something so she had to serve them. Then they's talk innocently about thinks like hot springs, or little sisters, or, most hurtful of all to a girl who most certainly did want to marry and have a family, they'd talk about how tough, scary women couldn't get dates. Now, she couldn't beat up on them, for one thing it would be bad for the restaurant, and they were careful to always keep their remarks innocent so she couldn't outright accuse them of teasing her. So she'd come home, mad and frustrated, and the person she blamed for causing it all was there, and vulnerable." Lina stopped talking, obviously still frightened by the memories.

"Wow..." said most of the table. "I see now why you are so afraid of her." said Amilia. She went on "Look, if it will help, I'll go with you when the time comes and be a character witness if you want. I mean how often does an heir to a throne show up and plead for someone to be forgiven?" Lina chuckled a bit and said "I thank you for the offer Amilia, but if she won't forgive me when I ask, she won't do it if everyone here went and asked as well. It's okay. Besides, there was one last insult I threw into the mix, and I don't think she knew about it, which might be why I am still alive. If she knows about it now it might still be tense between us, so I'd rather face her alone, with maybe just Gourry. Besides, I'll have to do some serious foot kissing and I'd rather not have you guys actually see that..." "What did you do?" someone asked. Lina giggled nervously. "Luna loved to sing love songs at fourteen. The guys wanted to know what she was saying, and on the last day I was able to oblige. She was singing in the shower, and I said I could do something if they gave me a silver penny. I got twelve. So I showed them my then newest trick. I projected her voice as she was singing in the shower, and it was a real cheesy love song too. I am really glad she never found out that..." "You added sound?" said a strange voice from the back of the room.

The King looked up then stood up and said in a happy way "OH! Our guests have arrived!" Erik, why didn't you bring them up right away?" The Prince answered from the back "They bid me wait till the Lady Lina was done, Your Majesty." "Your Highness, who are these people?" asked the Queen "Why they are..." the King started then slapped his forehead. "Great Gods! We never had the chance to finish telling you about the charge!" "Your right!" said Prince Phil. The King said, "Well long story unbelieveably short, just before we hit their rear ranks we noticed there was a large squad of lesser demons and maybe some brass demons as well, situated in their middle ranks, We had no fear that we would succeed in defeating the warriors before us, but we were afraid of running into the demons, they would probably be tough enough to stop the charge. Then, at the last minute, there came a scream from heaven and a golden dragon with a warrior Knight on her back swooped through the demons. Together they sent them flying in all directions, usually at once, as different pieces of the demons flew in different directions from the blows. That cheered us, and then the second miracle occured. As we hit the lines there arose in the northeast behind us a hellish glow of light followed by a large cloud that came to look, from our angle like a great hand reaching towards us. I now know it was the Giga Slave of Lady Sylphiel but it looked for all the world like heaven had sent a warrior to aid us against our enemies, and hell had risen up to gather them into it's insatiable maw. They broke and ran forward, the only direction they had open to them, and bunched themselves together until they couldn't move. It turned from a battle to a slaughter I'm afraid. Then..." But the King didn't get to finish as Gourry suddenly interupted by saying in a concerned voice "Lina? Lina! What's wrong? Breathe Lina!" they all looked at the redheaded sorceress and saw she was very blue indeed. "LINA!" yelled her husband. "What's wrong?"

"That would be me." said a gentle voice with a faint melanchoy sigh. Two women came forward now from the shadows and stood in the light. The first one, tall, blonde, beautiful, was instantly recognised. "It's Miss Filia!" sang out Amilia, happy to see her friend again. "That's the golden dragon!" she added. Just in case there was any doubt. Filia gave her a big smile back, then turned a worried glance back to Lina. Zel smiled and addressed the other woman "I never was ablr to meet you on the day you charged down from heaven, but I saw you. As you were then, so you are now, tall, beautiful, with long purple hair and bangs down in front. Let's see if I can guess. You started out as a waitress and now own several fine establishments in Zefielia. Oh, and you are one of only five Knights in the world with the power of Cephied?"

"Yes, yes." said the woman kindly. "I am the monster named Luna you were just hearing about." Moving gracefully she crossed the hall and said to Lina "Sister, please breath." As she did so she laid a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder. The touch brought Lina back to life. She screamed, and threw herself around Gourry so the poor man was between her and her sister, with Lina threatening to pull him over on herself. She kept saying, over and over again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me big sister, please forgive me!" as she cried in fear. Luna stood there with her head bowed and waited. Finally Lina got enough control over herself to stop babbling. She still hid behind Gourry, peeking our around him to see what Luna was going to do. Luna finally lifted her head and said, very gently, "Lina, it's been so long, won't you please come out so I can see you?" Lina cringed as if threatened by Luna's voice, even as a part of her soul was screaming to her to grow up and stop acting like a ten year old. When nothing happened she finally forced herself to slowly, and tremblingly, walk around and stand in front of Gourry. She couldn't quite look Luna in the face but she almost did. "H-hello Luna..." she said.

Luna smiled back, her nervousness apparent to all, except maybe her sister. "Hello Lina. I am happy to see you again. You are all grown up now, and married too! Please accept my congratulations..." The smile faded and she hung her head. She went on "Oh Lina, this isn't any easier for me than it is for you. I made such a mess of being your older sister. I wish I could undo the past, but I can't, but if you'll let me, I'd dearly like to make the future what it still can be, a future where we are family, like we should have always been." She gave a sad little pause, then took a breath and said "Lina, I have no excuse for what I did, I can only say with my whole being I am sorry for what I did and didn't do, to you, and for you, and, well..., Lina, I ask you to forgive me, no, I beg you to forgive me."

She became silent, as did the rest of the room, waiting for Lina's answer. Lina stood there for a minute, a stunned look on her face. "Y-you want m-my forgivenenss?" she said softly, in a puzzled voice. Luna nodded. Lina stopped trembing, and faced Luna. There was a tense pause as everyone waited for the answer. Suddenly she shouted "YES!" and lept into Luna's arms! Of course, the tears started then. Zel produced a handkerchief he had gotten ready and gave it to Amilia as he put his arm around her. King Alfred put his arm around Naga as she also sniffled. Gourry and Prince Phillionel exchanged glances. Filia looked a bit nervous and this prompted Prince Erik to take her around the table and seat her beside Amilia, who hugged her in greeting. Everyone was eventually seated with Lina sitting between Gourry and Luna.

The two sisters looked at each other, shyly at first, then as they relaxed they began to smile at each other. By the end of the meal they were much more at ease and were busy talking and catching up on the news. Finally Lina worked up the courage to ask Luna "I hear you are married too! I don't know if you remember a guy about two years older than I am we used to call Shorty. Turns out his name is Theoderic, but no matter, he grew up big and tall and oh so handsome! Anyway, he was serving with the Swordsmen of the Queen for Zefielia in this little spat we just had, and I got a chance to talk to him. He said you were married, and so was he, but he made a guessing game out of who he, and also you, were married to. Said you have a daughter too, and so does he. So, come on sis, out with it, and tell me, who finally swept you off your feet"  
Luna smiled at Lina for a bit then said "He made you guess did he? Well, now I am curious, before I answer your question, tell me who you guessed?" Lina told Luna what she had guessed, and Luna laughed and laughed. Lina laughed too, as it was contagious. Luna looked back at Lina and said "Here's the story sis. I knew you feared me, but I truely never knew how much. So, when I drove you away from home, I thought you'd just run away for a day or two and come slinking back and beg me to be nice. I was looking forward to toying with you about whether I'd let you in or not. I didn't start to panic until the third day when you weren't back. By day four I was looking for you, but no one had seen you. And you are right about the boys revenging themselves on me for beating them with my stick. I couldn't get them to help. Actually, it was a great, if painful, lesson in the idea of there being consequenses to one's actions.

Only one boy would help me look. Naturally, we didn't find you, but we got to talking. He even hugged me as I started crying in fear both for you and for me. Yes, believe it or not, I actually feared for you enough that I cried for you. After I calmed down a bit he said something about me spoiling my perfect eyes. I asked him what he meant because he couldn't have seen my eyes through my bangs, and he said in a shy way that he had been in on one of your shadow shows. He apologised for having done such a shameful thing to me, and then said that he had seen my eyes when I had flipped my hair back when washing it. He said he had never seen such a beautiful pair of eyes in his life, and that they quite took his breath away. I made some sarcastic comment about how the rest of me must have left him stone cold dead and he said, just matter of factly, not boasting, or trying to pass a line off on me, that he had been so taken with my eyes he never did get around to seeing the rest of me. I calmed down and told him he was sweet and gave him a hug, then went home to prepare to face mom and dad when they came home the next day.

I was very upset for many days after that and had to take time off of work and the three of us worked things out. Of course I told them what had happened and had to live with the guilt of knowing I had wiped the smile from mom's face with my stupidity. And then there was the unexpected pain of not having you around. Yes, I found out that I missed you, so much that it hurt. And all this time I had thought I would have been happy to go through life without you. Ah me, nothing like guilt for a reality check. Oh, and one more thing that hurt was when dad took my practice sword, the one I used to beat you with, and broke it. With one single blow." "You liked that wooden sword didn't you?" asked Lina. "Well, there was that, I suppose." said Luna in reply, "But mostly it was because he used my backside to break it on!" Lina looked at Luna, wide eyed.

"Anyway, I finally went back to work, this was weeks later and to my surprise there was a new cook. Guess who! The young man who had been so kind to me. Well, I smiled and we got to talking, and over the years one thing lead to another, then when I was twenty he asked and I answered and here we are. And all thanks to you! I was having a hard time imagining myself marrying any of the creeps who had seen me in your projections, but in a very real way, you did me a favour by weeding them out and letting me find the one who saw me as someone, not something. He liked my eyes you see, not because they were big, nor because they were purple like my hair, but because they were happy, he said he got lost in them, and felt he had been drawn into a well that drew it's source in my soul. Kind of a cheap poetic phrase I know, but hey, once I got to know him I could see what he was saying beyond the clumsy words, and his message was beautiful!" Lina nodded and smiled. She hugged Gourry's arm and said "I do know what you mean Luna, I've had the same experience.

Gourry looked over and said, eloquently, "Huh?" Lina said , "I still have your note from when you left the hotel all those weeks ago. You said the sun shone out of my eyes and you wanted to soar into the light." "Oh. Uh, yeah..." he said. Zel spoke up across the table and snickered "Come to the light Gourry..." Amilia elbowed him in the ribs, and immediately regretted it. Zel shook his head and snickered some more. "Your elbow finds my spare ribs a bit tough I take it Amilia?" "Next time, I'm using a pick axe!" the Justice Princess pouted back, rubbing her elbow. Gourry went to continue eating, only to find his steak was missing, and sure enough, Lina was just swallowing something as Luna smirked at him... He smiled back "You're feeling better, eh Lina?"

She nodded, then went back to Luna. "So, we both have the beautiful Inverse eyes. Well, what else would two such stunning beauties as we have? Go on please Luna, I want to know who this mystery poet is!" Luna giggled and said "Well, I just wanted you to know that in the end there was a silver lining to the shadow projection tale. Without it I might never have found my husband or had my daughter. I just find it amusing he wouldn't tell you outright who he was, and wanted you to guess." "Well, don't you do that okay Luna?" said Lina. Luna just looked at her sister with a bemused look, waiting for it to click. Lina looked thoughtful, sure she was missing something, then began to replay the conversation in her head. What had she missed? Luna found it amusing that Shorty had wanted her to guess who Luna's husband was? No wait, how had Luna worded it... her fork dropped, then her jaw, which was begining to get calloused from so many impacts with the floor over the past few weeks. She finally worked it out.

"Th-th-THEO?" she stammered as she turned to Luna. Luna started to laugh. "Shorty? He who even I once looked down upon, and who now is practically a god? You married him!" Lina was in shock as the conversation she had had with the man took on a new light. Suddenly she started laughing and laughing. "Oh that's so rich, he had a good joke on me! Hoo, well now I know! So, then the only thing is to go home and meet my niece!" "On one condition Lina." said Luna with a big smile. "Eh? What's that then?" asked Lina, a bit unsure. "Promise me you won't run away this time, she was really hurt." Lina looked puzzled, but there was a loud clank as Zel nearly dropped his tea cup. He gave an open mouthed stare at Luna then said with a surprised but amuzed voice "The red haired girl in Seirune?" Luna nodded, Lina almost went into shock.

"AAIIIEEEE!" she squeeled, burying her face in her hands. "Her? That little child who reminded me of me so much that I thought it was a ghost or something? That was my niece? Aiyaiyai, I was so on edge about maybe meeting you that meeting her made me panic, especially when she ran out and called me by name. Oh, I feel so bad now..."

Luna laughed then said, "Oh, you better believe she's like you Lina! In someways it's like I'm raising another you so I'll have a second chance to do it right this time. Yes you must come home and avenge yourself by teaching her all the bad tricks you can think of! Bold little darling too, I merely pointed you out in the crowd and said that that woman looked a lot like her aunty Lina, and off she went to ask you. You and your exploits are well known in Zephielia, even if you never come home to bask in your glory! And you may believe she was so sad when you bolted! Wait till she finds out you are coming for a visit! She's asked more than once why you don't and to be honest I've never known how to answer that."Lina took Luna's hand and gave it a squeeze. "If you are with me sister, I won't need to run. And I promise to come, I want to see mom smile at me again, and hug my dad too. I have missed you guys so much." Luna smiled. "We've missed you too, Lina. I can hardly wait, but I'll have six weeks to get ready. Oh, we'll have a time then!" With that, the healing of the two sisters had finally begun.  
"Do you do weddings Ms. Luna?" Naga asked suddenly. "Er, yes, we can cater and set up a hall, uh, why?" Naga gave Lina superior smile. Lina looked pale and her face fell. "Oh no, Naga, I-I mean Your Majesty, you wouldn't, not there, not in front of my family... Please! It was only one little fireball..." "OHOhohohohoho, one little fireball? No, that was only the latest in a long string of incidents going all the way back to when you knocked me off the roof the hotel when we first met!" "WHAT?" shrieked Lina in response. "You were the one who got yourself stuck on the roof of a burning hotel, one YOU set on fire I might point out, because you didn't know how to fly down! I just helped you get down before you got burned!" "Hmph! As if that justifies anything!" replied Naga. Lina almost made a caustic reply when she suddenly looked like she was choking and buried her head in one of her arms while she thumped on the table with her free hand and wailed "It's not fair, she's my queen now and there is nothing I can do about it..."

"Err, if I may ask Your Highness" said Luna, "Whose wedding were you wanting me to cater?" Naga smiled and pointed at Lina. Luna looked puzzled. "I thought she was married already?" "Oh she is," said Naga, "but only a very quiet and private ceremony, totally legal of course, but I want to throw her a grand public wedding to thank her for helping to save the kingdom." Naga gave a dramatic little pause then went on, "I am sure her family would love the chance to see her married grandly?" "Um, yes..." said Luna with a wary look in her eye. "Although something tells me you have more than that in mind..." Naga mearly cocked an eyebrow at Luna and smiled. Luna chuckled. Lina fell on her knees and begged "Luna! No please don't help her, she really wants some sort of humiliating revenge for all the trouble she thinks I've put her through since we met. It's not like that! It's..."

Luna silenced Lina with a finger on Lina's lips then bent over and very quietly whispered "She'll do it anyway sister. It's better if you let me do this to keep things from going too far, trust me..." Lina gulped and said very quietly "Okay..." as she got off her knees and sat down again. Gourry leaned over and asked in a voice full of concern, "Lina, are you okay?" Lina looked up at Gourry and gave him a sad smile. "It's okay Gourry, just one last debt I have to pay before I'm over my past life." she said. "Well, if you are sure..." replied Gourry still feeling very puzzled. He then said "I just haven't seen you this upset since the last time you saw a slug..." "Slug!" said Naga. "Err, yes Your Majesty, you see Lina hates them, she really gets, Um, upset by them." replied Gourry. "Upset!" laughed Amilia, butting in, "Heck she gets altogether freaked out by them! The yelling, the screaming..." "Dearest, perhaps your big sister doesn't need any more ammunition..." said Zelgadiss quietly. "Huh?" said Amilia, then she blushed as it dawned on her that Naga may have had slightly less that the purest and most just of intentions for that information. "Way to go mutton head..." Lina muttered to Gourry.

"OHOhohohoho!" laughed Naga putting an end to the side conversations. "I had almost forgotten your strong reaction to those poor creatures. Let's see, where were we when that poor restaurant owner innocently offered us some Escarot? Pity, it had been such a nice place too, before the fireball..." "Ehhh, he, he, ya..." said Lina embarased by the memory, a big drop of sweat rolling down her cheek as she put her hand behind her head. "So, how did you come by such a fear of them anyway?" asked Amilia. She then added "What?", looking at Zel as he tried unsuccessfully to stop her. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Oh that was me again I'm afraid." responded Luna. "You know, I don't remember what she did to upset me, but one night I was really mad at her, so I snuck out when she was asleep to this little cave just outside the village where the slugs tended to be abundant. I gathered quite a bucket full of the biggest and slimiest ones I could find and waited until she was deeply asleep, then I sneaked into her room and I slowly, so she wouldn't wake up and catch me at it, put them in her bed. She slept all night with them in her bed, under the covers, getting slime all over her, and in the morning, when she woke up and found out what had happened she..." "YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Lina as she collapsed into Gourry's arms, shaking uncontrollably and looking very green indeed as she relived the memory in all too graphic detail. "Yeah, that was it." said Luna. "And ever since then she hasn't been able to stand them. But she was, what, only seven at the time?" "EIGHT!" shrieked Lina. "Ah yes, so it was." said Luna with a sigh. "AND I HAD SAID I WAS GOING TO BE MORE FAMOUS THAN SOME SILLY KNIGHT OF CEPHIED BECAUSE I WAS A MAGICAL GIRL!" she added, still trying to get ahold of herself. Luna laughed, then she said "And so you are sister, so you are." Lina stopped shaking finally and looked at Luna, then said "Huh?" Luna smiled and said "You ARE more famous than some silly knight of Cephied! Lina, the whole world that existed under the mazoku shield knows your name, and the rest of the world is learning it rapidly. I am very well known in the town of Zephielia where we live, and somewhat known in the country at large, and a lot of that is due to my being a Knight of Cephied, but I never had your ability to leave home, with or without someone like me pushing you. I think if the roles had been reversed I might have opted to kill myself instead.

And here you are. A world famous sorceress, among the most powerful and famous, and only twenty one now. You've killed two mazoku , and not just any mazoku, The High Lord Hellmaster Phibrizzo, and that was just showing off, because you had already killed one of the seven pieces of Lord Ruby Eyed Shabradnigdo himself! Lina, I know my limits! Stopping a dragon with a kitchen knife is one thing, sorry Filia, but it was self defence. So is slicing a dragon slave in half with a sword, although trust me, you really have to be ready for it, I don't know if I could do it if I were caught unawares. I also know could handle any general or priest of a mazoku high lord, although I am uncertain about the one who is both general and trickster priest to Zellas Metallium, whom some call the Beast Master. But, unlike some people at this table, I could never destroy a high lord, or a resurected piece of Shabradnigdo, nor could I repulse the attack of a dark lord from a different world! And now, moving right along, you are a Lady of the Court of Westhold, and married to a knight of the realm, a knight who is also famous for carrying two famous swords. I don't mind admitting I am jealous that you got to see the Sword of Light. I hear it is gone now, and that may be good or bad, I don't know, but this Blast Blade your husband carries as replacement, I would love to see it one day if I may, I don't even want to touch it or anything, just see it, and I know dad would love a look at it too. The Gabriev family of Elemikia is well known in sword circles, and you went and married the most famous son of that family since the mythical Rowdy, back in the days they were said to live on Mispros Island."

Lina replied softly "Rowdy wasn't a myth, I went to Mispros once, and met him. He had been cursed with a long life spell, but it proved to be for the best in the end. I helped him change the future of the island for the better, by letting him send me back in time to change a battle with a demon named Joyrock and let the elves live instead of being destroyed." "Then you ARE the girl in the statue!" said an awestruck Luna. Lina nodded, then looked puzzled at her sister. "I went there on my honeymoon." she explained simply. "It was a beautiful trip and the first, and well, only time I've ever left Zephielia before this trip to help in the war. But there was a statue of a young girl standing with a toussle haired youth who was holding the sword of light. I couldn't get over how much the girl looked like you. Someone said it was over a thousand years old, but that the elves had made it and it didn't weather." "Yes, that's me." said Lina simply. Luna went on "If I hadn't seen the statue I wouldn't have believed you but I can't deny it now! Are you some sort of goddess Lina?" "Of course she is!" interjected a smiling Gourry, "And she's mine!" Lina chuckled and grabbed Gourry into a hug. "Well then, you must be a god." she teased. "Lord of the jellyfish perhaps?" came a low comment from Zelgadiss, obviously meant to be heard, yet low enough he could pretend all innocence as Lina glared at him. Amilia laughed, and soon the whole table was having a good chuckle.

Finally Lina asked Luna, "Did you really like Mispros?" "Hey! It was beautiful!" her sister replied, then added, "well, except for this one shady hotel operator who carted in mud and water from various hot springs and tried to pass it off as native." "AHHH!" shouted Naga, surprising everyone. "I told you Lina! I said that after you had changed the past we needed to go back and make sure the hotel operator was re-arrested, but oh no, no sense of justice! No sense of the utter importance of the hot spring to a woman with delicate skin! And the money! We could have taken him in, taken the reward money and gone off with gold in our purses! But you just wanted to go! Now see? I could have stopped that little creep again, and made sure he was arrested a second time, but oh no, Lina Inverse, as she was then, just plain knew better than everyone and just had to leave! HMPH! You owe your sister an apology!"

"Huh?" said Luna as Lina fumed ineffectively at Naga, knowing she couldn't blow up at her, or just plain blow her up, like she used to. Naga took this as her cue to explain in somewhat twisted detail the way she had dealt with the unscrupulous owner of the hotel they had stayed at who had done just what Luna had described. "Ahhh," said Luna, "and all that was undone by Lina's changing of the past. Well, he's behind bars now, I saw to that." She turned to Lina and teased "Lina, don't you know how sensitive a woman's delicate skin is? It's important! You should have brought him in again!" Lina shook her head and moaned "Not you too Luna!"

Naga went on, getting into her stride now. "Lina! I realise you know very little about hot springs, so I can't really blame you for not realising how important it was, but I trust now that you can see that you should have listened to one who knew better!" "Er, yes, well, I just thought we needed to catch the boat off the island. As it was we made it just in time." Lina replied a bit hotly, as she clenched her hand to avoid instinctively fireballing Naga. "Oh really?" said Naga with a smirk. "You're sure it wasn't anything to do with that hot spring you had been about to dive into? The one you didn't want me to find out about? The one with the time magic imbued into it? Trying to age ourselves a bit were we?" As she said that Naga gave her breasts a jiggle, making it obvious why she thought Lina was trying to swim in the magical pool. Lina blushed and cringed a bit. "Oh all right, I admit it." said Lina softly, then asked "How did you know the pool was magical?" "I'm an expert!" responded Naga with feeling. "I could tell just by looking at the water and the way the plants were along the bank, and I could smell it too. Oh, and I overheard the farmer who warned you. At any rate, there we were beside a perfectly lovely looking hotspring, one you were about to plunge into, and I didn't even act like I was going to go in. If it had been a regular spring you'd have realised I was there as I dove in."

Naga stared down at Lina like she had been explaining the mysteries of the universe to her, although the smirky smile that struggled less than successfully to stay off her lips took away from the effect." Luna added, with a small giggle, "Honestly Lina, you need to start figuring things out you know." Lina burried her face in her hands for a minute then said "Please don't turn into another Naga, Luna, please don't do that..." Luna looked puzzled, then said "Okay, I'll try not to..." A pointed "HMPH!" drifted across the table, as did some more laughter. And so the evening passed.

In the course of it, it was decided to have a last special day together while all was put into readiness for Luna, Gourry and Lina, and the royal Household of Seirune, to leave in style. A special concert was arranged in which the epic of the Rose Warrior, a very old and sacred tale to the people of Westhold, would be performed by the best bard and the best musicians available. Finally, all went to their various beds. On returning to their rooms Lina found the young maid Trina busy turning down the bed. She gave a proper curtsy and called Lina "My Lady" Lina shook her head, this was going to take getting used to. Then she remembered. "Hey Trina!" she said. "I remember I promised to make you my personal maid if I came into my fortune. Of course I don't think either of us expected it to happen, but hey, since it has, you want the job? You can come with us on our little honeymoon trip and see a bit of the world!" Trina squeeled with delight and of course accepted on the spot. Lina said she'd speak for her tommorrow morning. Trina skipped happily out of the room, no mean feat when you remember she was bowing all the way... "I do believe you've made her happy, Lina." Gourry said with a smile. 


	21. uChapter20

Chapter 20 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina knew things were back to normal when a smiling if timid Trina woke her. The sun was up, but it was still morning! "Hey..." she said, a bit grumpy. She had been about to eat the biggest piece of meat she ever had come across, and Trina had spoiled it! However, as she woke up more she started wondering what Gourry's arm was doing in her mouth... oops. She hoped he didn't notice the bite marks. "Hehehehe..." she laughed nervously to herself, then quietly got out of bed. "Gotta watch that..." she said to herself as Trina led her into the next room, where she had wheeled a portable bath tub in place and prepared it for her new mistress' use. Lina looked dumfounded then said to the young girl "This getting waited on is going to take some getting used to. I'm going to have to find a better use for your talents than fetching hot water." Trina smiled and said "Well, that would be nice, but I've done this most of my life, what else should I do?" Lina had to admit that she didn't know off hand, but made a deal with Trina that after the honeymoon was over and they were settled in to Gourry's new manor, well, new to him, of course, they'd work something out.

Lina then sank into the tub and moaned in pleasure. Hot water was sooooo good! "Of course, I could get used to this!" Lina said with a chuckle. "Someone will have to heat the water, but I don't want any slaves." "Slavery, except as a punishment for crime, is illegal in Westhold." said Trina matter of factly. "Good." said Lina, with a cringe, remembering her official status. She wondered briefly if Gourry remembered... Then she asked "But if you don't take slaves, what ever happened to the million man, er I mean six hundred thousand man army the King defeated? That's a hugh pile of corpses." "Oh, didn't you hear the end of the tale then?" asked Trina. "Here's what my father and my brothers told me. They charged the rear of the enemy, and just before they hit a great golden dragon with a mystical warrior on her back smashed into them from on high, sending a line of demons scattering. Then a bright flash and a big hand of smoke rose up behind them and the enemies though heaven and hell were fighting against them, so they paniced and ran into the front lines which were crushed against the wall and litterally could not move. After that, there was a lot of killing, but somehow, the King and the other commanders managed to direct it against the most experienced and elite troops of the enemy.

Some time later in the day, when the enemy had been reduced to under some two hundred thousand, the King called a halt and went to have a truce with the enemy. It took a while, but eventually translators were gotten and an old colonel was found in the enemy side to be the remaining highest ranking officer, and he was in charge of a regiment of engineers, those who built bridges and forts, and repaired armour and weapons. All the battle lords were dead, and with them the elite troops. My dad said it was clear that those who remained were fighting because they had no choice in the matter. Then the King gave them one. He asked the colonel if he and his men wanted to die for the Kahn. The answer was simply "no". He then asked why they were there in the first place. The answer was that the Kahn had told them to go. The King then asked where the great army was that was following them to make sure they fought. Of course there wasn't one. It had all been duty and fear that kept them in line, but those they feared were dead now. The King said to the enemy, "Do you love the Kahn?" There was a shout of "NO!" from the other side. He looked at the colonel and said "Do you think it's time for a new Kahn to sit on the throne? One who would start a new dynasty?"

The colonel was shrewd enough to see what the King was saying, and said "And what do you want?" "Peace" said our King Alfred back to him. "Peace, and a friend to the East, not an enemy. Send merchants, not soldiers, to me if you want my country's wealth." The colconel looked shocked according to my father, who figures he must have been told to expect the worst. But he quickly agreed. The King then let the survivors out, a few at a time, they were stripped of weapons and armour and set to work burying the dead. It took the rest of the day and part of the night, but the King kept them busy so they were too tired to try anything. Finally they were allowed to sleep. Meanwhile the King and the colonel talked some more, but dad didn't get to hear any of that. In the morning the enemy was fed, by us, given supplies, allowed to re-arm themselves, and then march away. The King said he had no doubt they would not return, there was an evil Kahn to depose and a new one, hopefully good, to set up, and there would be a harvest to take in and many widows and orphans to take care of. He hopes that next summer will see ambasadors from the East come to the wall, seeking friendship. Well, we shall see, our guard will not drop just yet. But that's the end of it really, no slaves, and not all were slaughtered. Whatever they were told about how horrible we were, they have to weigh this mercy against it"  
Lina nodded. "Mercy, yes, Naga, I mean, Her Majesty told me she had fallen in love with him in part because he was truely able to mix justice with mercy. He did it for me, he did it for the enemy, and neither of us deserved it. I will have trouble taking the Queen seriously, but I will have no trouble loving the King." "Oh?" said a worried looking Gourry from the door. Lina gave a little start then turned around. He looked so crestfallen, pathetic even, that she actually took pity on him and held her arms out to him. "My beloved Jellyfish, come here, I didn't mean I love him like I love you, I only meant I could love him as my King." "Oh." said Gourry as he came forward and let Lina hug him. As always, it felt so good!

He then straightened up and said "Say Lina, do you know where these bite marks on my arm came from? I kept dreaming some big monster with an insatiable appetite kept biting me all night long." "Er, he, he, me? Why would I know that?" Lina said, trying unsucessfully not to sound nervous, or guilty. "Oh." said Gourry, yet again. "I just wondered if you were dreaming of me being a big piece of meat again." With that he sat down, puzzled. Lina laughed nervously again then suggested he hurry and get ready so they could get to breakfast, and then the telling of the epic. As she dressed, in a simple but very becoming summer gown, Trina had done it again, Lina asked Trina about the epic. Trina said she didn't want to say anything about the story, as it was a great tale from the old times, but she did say it wasn't performed often, partly because it was long. It would take a few hours to tell, so Lina resigned herself to a lengthy tale. Soon enough they were ready and went out.

They found a seat and were served, then they were told that the tale began at the tenth hour and would be in the garden used by poets and musicians. Lina remembered to talk to the chief butler about Trina, and the man said he supposed that if her father had no objections with it he couldn't see there being a problem with the young lady going, although he was surprised that Lina didn't want an older lady with more experience. Lina assured him that she found Trina to be a good and worthy servant in her own right, and so that was settled. They moved out to the garden and were seated on a blanket on the grass under a sun screen that had been erected. Soon everyone was there, and it was evident this was a rather informal occasion, the main rule being to remain quiet while the bard was speaking. But you could get up and walk around if your legs were tired of sitting. And there was an all day buffet laid out at the back, which made Lina very happy indeed!

There was a bit of a flourish as the royal family arrived, and all scrambled up to their feet to bow or curtsy. The King said "Good morning!" and they Royal trio took their place by the dias. Amilia and Zel took their place, with the ever watchfull Phil, of course, and Lina and Gourry were joined by Filia and Luna. Several other members of the court took their places and a fair number of off duty guards and servants packed in too. The musicians started playing, getting everyone in the mood, and when the time seemed righ an older man with a harp stood forth and began to play. Then he spoke and the tale commenced.

"Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a little princess, and she was sad, for her mother and her father had died.  
One day, there appeared before the princess, a prince, traveling on a white horse.  
His bearing was regal, and he had a kind smile.  
Wrapping the princess in a rose scented embrace he said "Little one, growing up alone in such sorrow, do not lose your grace and nobility, even when you become a young lady. I give you this to remember this day. We will meet again, this ring will lead you to me"  
Perhaps the ring he gave her was an engagement ring?  
This was well and good, but so impressed was she by him that she vowed to become a prince herself one day.  
But, was that a good idea?"

A long tale then ensued about the young princess growing up to womanhood amids many trials and tribulations, and through many of life's battles, on her way to finding her happiness and her way in life. Lina found herself able to identify with some of what the young lady went through. She realised that a lot of the tale was meant to be understood symbolically, which rather increased the enjoyment for her, after all, magic was highly symbolic, and she did enjoy puzzling out what the symbols were supposed to mean. Gourry seemed to enjoy it too, no doubt it helped that it was full of sword fights and adhering to a code of honour. Lina had a rather enjoyable time of it, there was plenty of food at the back, and the buffet was kept stocked all day long. She could see that Luna rather liked it too, that was good. When they got together they would have to hash it out. Filia seemed to have some trouble trying to follow the way the humans were acting in the tale, but what else could a golden dragon do? It was sometimes hard to remember that the beautiful blonde haired, fair skinned, blue eyed young lady was in fact a false human form taken on by a rather larged, winged, fire breathing reptile. Not that she wasn't pretty as a dragon. Mind you, if you happened to note the lovely golden tail she usually managed to keep discretely hidden, it might make the believing a bit easier. Still, she was very polite and sat through it paying attention to most of the tale.

Finally, in the late afternoon, the tale wound down to a close with a surprise ending that was hard to have seen coming. Lina was very moved by the ending actually, as the young woman and her best friend set out into the big world on their own. She felt she was in just the same spot, but unlike the young woman who was alone, and her friend who left everything behind to look for her, she was setting out together with her friends, her family, and most special of all, with the one... Gourry wasn't sure what the spontanious hug was for but he instinctively knew better than to ask. After all, just because Lina hadn't gotten around to fireballing him lately didn't mean he had any doubts as to when, and how, he would know the honeymoon was over. Still, he'd rather be fireballed by Lina, than live without her. The Royal sisters seemed to be unable to avoid debating what various parts of the story were about, and there were a few times they were discretely hushed, but what to do, they were Royal, after all.

The end of the day came finally, with people still talking, trying to cram as much into the last few hours as they could. They all agreed they would end up together in Zephielia in six weeks time for Lina and Gourry's official wedding, then off to Seirune to see Amilia and Zelgadiss finally get their day too. Luna was not going to be at the Seirune wedding but she begged Lina and Gourry to spend one night at her house on the return trip and tell her all about it. Since Lina and Gourry would be traveling with the King and Queen by then she made arrangements to put them all up in her best hotel and the deal was struck. Finally all went to bed, with early mornings and multiple departures planned. Lina found that Trina had been busy packing up her new mistress' things and Lina felt bad she had missed the performance, but the younger girl smiled and said that in the first place she was happy enough to work and make sure all was as ready as it could be, and second, she already had heard the story more than once so it wasn't like she had missed a once in a life time telling. Lina felt so guilty that she even gave the girl a chocolate to make up for it. Well, it wasn't like it was her last one, guilt only goes so far... Finally, she and Gourry tucked in together and the night was theirs.

As predicted, they were awakened too early to get ready for the trip. She was relieved to find she hadn't been chewing on Gourry again, rather she was safely wrapped in his arms. They grogged awake and dressed and were out. Phil and Amilia along with Zel were up already and being breakfasted by the King and a rather teary Queen who was having to say goodbye to her family, after all the years of estrangement a few brief weeks together weren't enough, especially not ones interupted by a war. Lina had no doubt that the next few years would be full of official royal visits. Well, why not? She had had even less time with Luna, now that they were talking, and would definitely want some vacations herself. Thank goodness for writing and letters! After a final breakfast together in which official exchanges of friendship were made between the two kingdoms, and a lot of presonal vows of good will were also exchanged, Phil, and his family were packed up on their horses and their guards were readied. With a final salute, and hug of baby Arthur, they were off.

Shortly thereafter it was Luna's turn. Now there was no mistaking what Filia really was as she had, privately, returned to her dragon form. Luna too had changed, she had put back on the full battle armour of a knight of Cephied. It was a very impressive suit of what could only be called "Scale mail" a type of armour made of interlocking plates of steel, and in Luna's case, real dragon scales over the most vital spots. It was made to a good pattern and flattered her figure without being obvious, yet it still left no doubt that the person in it was noble, and also not someone to cross swords with... "Well, I couldn't go and not show you what it looked like" she said to Lina with a smile.

Lina also noted that Filia looked a bit more like a mature dragon. Just a bit, dragons age slowly compared to humans, and out live them by several thousand years. Still, Filia had a look about her that, while it still suggested the innocence and purity for which Filia was know to her friends, also suggested that this type of innocence was capable of ripping you to shreds and generally being dangerous if you crossed it. Lina had no doubt the enemy must have been terrified. Here, Filia and Luna were acting friendly and were known to all, there the two of them had dropped from the sky with what would have looked to the enemy like murder in their eyes. Lina could see herself breaking before their combined onslaught, even if she did know who they were.

But this morning it was all teary good byes on the part of the two Inverse sisters and Filia prepared to fly at a more leisurly rate back to Zephielia. She said she could smell rain on the air, but probably not till the morrow, so today was a good day to leave. Gold was offered by way of a reward, and refused. Then some of the finest gemstones Lina had ever seen were offered, and although the two women didn't really want a reward, they had the weakness most intelligent beings have for pretty things and they accepted a small bag each. Lina decided not to tell them that they were worth a small fortune, she figured that her sister and Filia didn't think along those lines, atleast not about rewards. Some more goodbyes and general hugging and the like and Luna mounted Filia, reminding Lina of the time she and Amilia had flown on Filia in the battle with Darkstar. Luna rode without reigns or saddle, apparently she had had a rope around Filia's neck during the battle to allow her to hang on as she leaned over the side to slash away, but that was now safely tucked away. A final farewell and Filia lept into the air like she actually belonged there and in short order they were a speck in the sky, disappearing rapidly to the west. Lina felt a little empty somehow.

Soon enough a proud carriage drawn by four horses pulled into view and six mounted riders formed up behind it, the ceremonial guard King Arthur had insisted on. Actually, Lina could see they were not entirely ceremonial, it didn't take much to see that they were fully capable of being real guards if need be. Well, they should have a safe trip, between Lina's fireballs, Gourry's Blast Blade, and the business like guards it was hard to think of anyone who would be foolish enough to attack them. Certainly there would be no hope of victory. Trina was there too, ready to be of "service" and looking like she couldn't wait to go on this grand adventure of seeing the outside world! She rode up front with the driver and wouldn't hear of going in the main cab of the carriage, at least while the weather was good. So, Gourry and Lina finally set out themselves, well supplied and looking noble indeed. As they rode they talked and exchanged ideas and opinions on everything. Lina found herself tempted to bop Gourry more than once but managed to hold the fist if not her tongue. Gourry took it all in his stride, and so they passed the trip wondefully well.  
The day came when they turned down from the now familiar path and ventured deeper into Elemikia. Lina had wandered these parts from time to time in the past, so it wasn't a totally unfamiliar area to her, but she had mostly drifted between the towns and the wild spaces, she had never been to the big estates, especially not to the manor house that was now the ancestral seat of the clan Gabriev. They stayed at an inn just a short ride away from the house on what was planned to be the evening before their arrival and Lina and Trina fussed and fumed about how she should dress to meet the inlaws. She wanted to make a good impression, which rather tended to rule out her familiar yellow and red pants and top, her trademark costume, but at the same time she was well aware of Gourry's rather unwelcome state and insisted on something practical, something she could cast fireballs in, which rather ruled out most of her prettiest dresses. She resolved to get some dressier pants for the future, dresses and skirts were great for looks, but not for hard magical work. Finally she found a simple but flattering dress (like Trina had packed any other kind) which was reasonably free to move in the way she liked and the issue was settled. The two women went down to join Gourry who was sitting in the common room, deep in his own thoughts about the up coming meeting with his estranged family.

He was so caught up in his worries that he hadn't eaten, a fact Lina noted with worry. It was one thing to race Gourry to the last morsle of food when they both had healthy appetites, it was another thing to have him not care if she took it or not. She hugged him and whispered "I'll be with you, I love you!" He smiled and hugged back and said "Thanks." He was persuaded to take a mug of ale, and was amazed to remember how good Elemikian ale really was. He even managed to smile again. Then, there was a bustle and a party of hunters entered the inn in a noisy, good humoured way. Gourry stopped in mid drink and stared! Lina realised he must have recognised someone and squeezed his hand for luck. Gourry turned away quietly and faced the fire. "My brother..." he half whispered to Lina. She understood, Gourry didn't want to confront him in public. "Well, let's go to our rooms then." she said back to him. Gourry replied "Finish your supper, if we leave right away it'll be bound to attract attention, whereas if we wait a bit they will settle into their cups and their story telling and we can fade away, I hope..."

Lina nodded. She ate, but without much appetite and waited for Gourry to give the signal. She didn't pay much attention to the conversation but one line caught her ear. "Who owns that coach and four out by the stables?" asked a voice that sounded like it might have been the one belonging to the man Gourry had pointed out as his brother. Darn, they were spotted anyway. The barman pointed out the table where the young lord and lady from that "new" kingdom, the one where they had just fought the war, were sitting. "Well, well, lords who get out and about." said Gourry's brother's voice, in a slightly mocking tone. "Unlike some Elemikians eh?" sneered another voice in return. Gourry's brother's voice became icy. "That supposed to mean something is it?" it asked. "Oh well, far be it for me to say, but some of us actually saw that man's country. Very pretty, nice mountains, and plenty of work to do, for those that had the stomach for it." replied the more mocking voice.

"Now now boys!" said the barkeeper's voice. "Keep it down. There's others here who want a quiet drink, and no one doubts the courage of either of you lads. We all know the law, that Mister Gabriev the elder there at the manor could keep Mister Rolf here back, what with him being the only known remaining son and all, whereas you and your brothers were able to keep your little brother out of the way while you all did what you had to. Be reasonable Mister Norman." "Gourry, what do we do?" whispered a frantic Lina. "Wait." whispered Gourry back.

"It's my brother and my cousin, who's had one too many, the one that was going to fight him for the Sword of Light. I see they love each other as much as always. Usually these things are shouting matches, or some fisticuffs. I'm not moving unless steel is drawn. Trust me on this, Lina." "Okay I will..." said the petite mage, still sounding worried. Back at the bar the situation got worse. The shouting started, just as Gourry said, and despite the efforts of the local bar patrons it was evident the two hot heads were going to be hard at it. Most of the crowd shuffled out in a hurry to avoid the damage, leaving only the hotheads and their friends who were soon locked in battles of their own in the background. There were a few hard blows and a chair or something broke, then there was the distinct sound of a bottle breaking. "HEY! Put that down!" shouted the Norman voice. "Down your throat! Nobody swings a chair at ME! It ends now!" yelled the Rolf voice back. Trina, who had hung quietly in the background, acting her part as serving woman to her mistress, gave a shriek and ran off. Lina shivered in fright. As bad as she and Luna had been, even in the days of the stick, there was never this raw violence. Lina had feared pain and humiliation, but never death at Luna's hands. Wished for it, at times, but never feared it. She was about to say something to Gourry when the unmistakable sound of a sword being swung though the air cut her off.

"Not if I stick you first!" yelled the Norman voice back. There was a crash as something heavy hit the ground, a scream of pain, and a cry of "Kill him Norman! He struck first!" from one of the supporting cast in the back ground. Lina turned to do something and was almost knocked over as Gourry launched himself from the chair and roared in a commanding voice that even cowed Lina into instinctive obedience "STOP!" In a flash Gourry was between his prostrate brother and his wild cousin and had decked the latter full in the face with his fist, sending the sword weilding brawler into the tables behind in a crash. In another flash the man was up, loudly expressing his uncertainty about not only if Gourry's parents were married, but also about if they even belonged to the same species. He swung his sword at Gourry, and he meant business. Alas, it was a good sword and should have been better treated. Of course it was no match for the Blast Blade which sailed out of its sheath and severed the blade where it joined the hilt. The former business end of the now ex-weapon embedded itself in the bar while the handle, being suddenly lightened, whirled around in the hand of its suddenly off balance wielder who received another blow to the head from Gourry which sent him sprawling. "Get him!" someone in the back yelled and the group lurched towards Gourry. For maybe one step. A familiar voice now yelled "FIREBALL!" and a streak of orange light followed by a window breaking blast of heat and flame sent them all down for the count. A second later the door flung open and the six guards rushed in weapons ready, and Trina right behind. She hadn't panicked after all, she had run for help. The fight was over.

In a matter of seconds the soldiers had the ruffians cowered into a corner. Gourry grabbed his cousin and plopped him into a chair where he sat, looking a bit groggy. He then grabbed his brother and did the same. His brother sat there with a look of astonishment on his face as he craddled his wounded arm, the one that had presumably held the bottle. Lina came forward with a look on her face that would make a Mazoku back off a few paces, and stood beside her husband. "Do you recognise me?" Gourry asked the seated men. Rolf just nodded, still too amazed to speak, but Norman found his tongue quicker. "So the thieving prodigal returns..."

"I see you don't carry the Sword of Light anymore, I suppose you lost it? And where did the redhead come from? Thieving swords not enough for you, now you're craddle robbing too?" he slurred, keeping up a false front of bravado. Lina's eyes flashed dangerously. A voice came over from the corner where the subdued "friends" were cowering "Norman! Shut your mouth! That's the Bandit Killer herself, you know, the Dragon Spooker?" Lina gave a start. She just about fireballed them, but then she heard an echo of Naga's laugh as she had described how that name had come about, and in a strange way it calmed her. A little bit. "Whaddya mean?" said Norman with a slight slur, his head was still abit fuddled from the drink and Gourry's solid punches to his head. "You know," said the voice, "short, long red hair, looks like a flat chested little girl, and has a temper to match her fireballs..." Lina hissed as she prepared to toss one of the said fireballs at the gang, obviously the last one hadn't subdued them sufficiently. Suddenly Gourry stood between her and her prey, sword in hand, advancing on the cowering men.

"Gentlemen." he said. "have you seen this sword before? It is a sword even more legendary then the sword of light. This is the Blast Blade, the sword which is so magically sharp it can cut through anything at all, including and especially any tongue that speakes disrespectfully of my wife the Lady Lina Gabriev, nee Inverse. Now, I admit I was talking to my cousin and maybe I didn't hear the words that were just spoken aright, would someone like to repeat them for me please?" There was a silence as a collective gulp was takien then a man spoke up, forced cheerfulness in his voice. "Well what our friend said was that he recognised your lady as the world famous demon killing, mazoku spooking powerful and beautiful sorceress that she is. She is well known for her perfect and petitie form, her fire coloured tresses which are the envy of any woman who sees them, her youthful beauty and perfect breasts which cause any man, lesser than yourself of course, to throw himself to the ground sobbing with the realisation that he would never be worthy of such perfection. A perfection so complete that it can only have been hand sculpted by the Golden Lord herself!"

Lina continued to glare at the men, but she couldn't keep a smirk off her face as they backtracked as fast and as far as they could. She realised it was actually fun to let Gourry defend her honour, at least sometimes, regardless of whether she was capable of doing it or not. Gourry turned to her and gave her a look that asked if she was satisfied with the revision. She nodded, not wanting to prolong the ordeal, even though making them sing her praises a bit longer would doubtless have been fun. Gourry turned back to the men and made a short jab towards the open window with his sword. The point was taken and in about two seconds the room was emptied as the would be battlers tumbled through the broken opening and into the street.

Gourry turned back and faced his cousin and his brother. "The sword of light is gone. I met it's original owners and gave it back to them. They are from the Overworld, and they use it, along with four other light weapons, to do battle with Darkstar, their equivalent to our Shabradnigdo. I don't care what you think, or whether you believe me or not, I was more than satisfied with their claim, as were all the members of the group there with me. Lina, of course, Amilia, who is the crowned Princess of Seirune, Filia, who is a Golden Dragon priestess of the Fire Dragon King, Zelgadiss, the chimera grandson of Rezo the Red Priest, and even Xellos, the mazoku trickster priest of Beastmaster Zellas-metallium. We were all satisfied to their claim, and so I willingly gave it back.

In time, perhaps by fate, perhaps as some form of reward, I bought a cheap and ratty sword with which to do battle. One day I was, along with my beloved Lina here, locked in battle with the great mazoku lord, Dynast! In the course of the battle the sword was heated red, then the ice cold hand of the mazoku grabbed it, and the blade shattered. But to the amazement of all, underneath it was another blade, this one, the Blast Blade, hidden from view for who knows how long, waiting for the day it would be needed again. Now here it is, the replacement to the sword of light. It is mine, and will be an heirloom to my heirs! And I will have heirs for know this! I am a noble knight now, Sir Gourry Gabriev, made so by Alfred, the very King of Westhold himself.

He it was who also married Lina to me and granted this special trip as a honeymoon and so I might make an attempt to make peace with my family, and also so that I might tell you that the object of your jealous quarreling is gone for good, as is any claim you might have to it's replacement. That is why I took the sword of light and ran away. I overheard the two of you threatening to shed blood to obtain it. Well, it's gone now. I don't expect you to be friends, but there is nothing left to fight for, so stay away from each other, for the rest of your lives! Is that clear?" he asked, his face inches from his cousin, who gulped and nodded. "Then... get out." said Gourry with a commanding finality. His cousin needed no second hint, he was up and out the door in a flash.  
Gourry turned to his brother and after a deep breath asked "Are you hurt?" Rolf, who had been silently staring at Gourry in amazement held up his arm and showed where it had taken a long deep cut from the now defunct sword his cousin had swung at him. "I-I'll live..." he said in amazement. "I see that you do too. If it isn't inapropriate, welcome back?" Gourry flopped down in the chair recently vacated by his cousin and gave a sigh as he buried his face in his hands. After a minute of dead silence in the room he looked up again and said to his brother " I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do..." Rolf stared at him for a full minute then glanced at the sword, then at Lina, then at the men under his command, and finally he said "If this is what you do when you don't know what you are doing I'd be afraid to see what you could do if you did!"

Rolf went on "Well, I must admit I was mad at you for taking the sword, and worried about you for leaving. The family has basically disowned you as a thief, but after this, I think there's going to be a lot of eggs on a lot of faces, and I don't mind admitting mine is good for at least a dozen. Father and Mother have never stopped wondering about you, they will be happy to see you." he sighed. "Gourry, we didn't always have tension between us, it was the sword, and in truth, I see you did the right thing taking it. Please forgive me and let's start anew?" "I'm sorry too, Rolf, sorry things got so bad we had to part like that, but I didn't want you or Norman hurting each other. Okay now what do we do?"

Rolf stood up and gingerly exteneded his hand. Gourry stood up and shook it, also gingerly, as it was the wounded arm. Lina went over and said "I've learned a few little healing tricks from Sylphiel, let me see that." Rolf looked concerned but held out the arm. Lina muttered a spell and there was a white glow around the arm. Magically, of course, the wound knit together and healed. "Wow, uh, thanks..." said Rolf, not knowing what to say. "Er, and, uh, welcome to the family?" Lina gave him a strange look then laughed and shook his still outstreched hand. "You can have a kiss when you clean up." she said, looking at the blood drying on the sleeve, left over from before the wound had been healed. "Right, I'll look forward to that!" he brightened as he smiled at her. "Er, well, now I guess I need to go home. Come with me Gourry, they will not be able to refuse you if I'm with you. Please?"

Gourry smiled at his brother and finally gave him a hug. "Well, I knew this was going to be awkward, I'm just glad it isn't as bad as I thought. Okay, you come with us and we'll take the carriage! And I'm not taking no for an answer!" "Ha! I wasn't going to try. Get a ride in that fancy rig of yours, you think I'm going to give up on a chance like that?" responded Rolf with a smile of his own. They turned to go. "Guys I'm sorry but we're moving out again now instead of tommorrow, but it isn't far." There was some good natured pretense at groaning from the soldiers as they set out to prepare for the trip. Lina and Trina hopped upstairs and got Lina into her dress she had picked out. In short order they were ready. Lina, being the one who usually managed the money in the past, went over to pay up. The owner was sobbing quietly in a corner. "My inn..." he sobbed. "I'm ruined."

Lina was a bit annoyed, she had heard this sort of whining before, and it usually meant someone wanted money. Okay, so his bar had been a little blasted in the battle to stop a fight, but what did he expect. She rolled her eyes and turned away. Trina was standing behind her with the purse open. Lina saw that there was a lot of gold in there, and she felt a twinge from the old times when that much money was a fortune that represented a lot of hard work. She was ready to argue with the man about what he really was owed when it occured to her that there was lots more where that came from, and a life time supply as long as the King and Queen were happy with them. She decided to do something unheard of and be generous for once.

She quietly grabbed a handful of coins that could have bought the whole inn twice over and winked at Trina. She made a show of muttering a spell on the spot, then twirled around and dramatically chanted "Gold!" and tossed the coins at the man. His response was to stagger back. He didn't know if he should believe what he just saw, did she just magically create gold? Taking Naga's cue from the Dragon Spooker business she managed to act like it was no big deal. Let the world spread a rumour that she could create wealth! It would be so much fun! She walked out and joined her husband and his brother as they waited for the coach. Trina managed to bite her tongue until they got out then giggled and giggled. She was a clever girl and had an idea at least of what Lina had just set up in there. Soon they were all giggling, even if they didn't know why. The coach rolled up, and off they went.  
It was late, just before sunset in late summer, but it wasn't far, less than an hour's ride. As they arrived the sun was almost set, but the sky was still light, and there was even a moon well on it's way to growing towards full haunging in a clear sky, so they were well seen. In fact, the light was at a quality beloved by artists the world over, and in later generations it would be even more prized by a new species of artist known as the photographer by the name "beauty light." It had the effect of slightly softening everything, and ever so slightly muting colours in a way that made everything seem at it's most beautiful. Onto this scene the whole household had turned out to wonder at what the arrival of such a fancy coach, with six impressive guards, meant.

Lina could see a lot of handsome men and women looking similar to Gourry, tall, blond, graceful and stong. She hoped they would accept her, she felt her old inadequacies returning to haunt her. Well, Gourry loved her and wanted her just as she was, that's what mattered! Or so she kept trying to tell herself. The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the house. It was obviously a wealthy household, but the lack of heraldic symbols proclaimed by their absence that the people who lived there were of so called "common" stock. Like she was. Like she had known Gourry was. "But not any more." she smiled to herself. It was also obvious to Lina that this was not a single family dwelling, but an older type of dwelling, one where several families lived. These families would collectively work the farm, and provide other services, such as blacksmithing, or animal care, or do the doctoring, the woodworking, or any other needed function. There would even be a merchant type or two. They were all tied to the land which might consist of a big spread miles in length. And at the head would be a man, or a woman, who had inherited the title of "owner" from a long line of prior owners. A little kingdom, if you like.

With a start Lina realised something that had been in front of her all the time. Gourry, to even be around the sword of light, would have been a younger son of that owner! A spoiled rich kid! Now that explained a lot about his being so naive all the time! He was probably used to privilage, living in the real world must have shocked him! Hey, he WAS going to make this Knight thing work. Lina drew her attention back to what was happening. By now the coachman had opened the door and set the step down. Rolf had jumped out and started talking to everyone. Trina was out too, waiting to help her Lady out, and the guards were down forming a double row for them to walk through, a real honour guard! Lina listened as Rolf spoke to an older man and a woman who now came forward. From the way he acted towards them, and from the way they looked so much like Gourry, especially the woman, there was no doubt they were his parents. In confirmation Gourry squeezed her hand and with obvious emotion in his voice whispered "My Mother and Father..."

There were a few expressions of curiosity from the assembled crowd but Rolf quickly took charge and with a few words detailed that there had been a meeting of the minds with his cousin Norman and that things were settled now thanks to the timely arrival of the last person on earth anyone would have thought to see here. Oh yes, there was a wonderful surprise in that fancy carriage, and a deal of news too. Gourry's parents looked stunned, but Lina could see that Gourry's mom was already reading between the lines. What she couldn't read was if she thought it was good or bad... Rolf stuck his head in the carriage and said "Okay knucklehead! That's your cue!"

By prior arrangement, while they had traveled in the carriage, it was decided that Gourry should go out first and let the shock roll over the crowd, then they'd be ready to meet Lina, especially once they realised who she was. Lina wasn't sure about that, but not having a better plan, and not being able to use her usual method of getting her way through applied thermal enhancement of her arguments, the carriage was just too confined for a fireball after all, she gave in, and now watched nervously as Gourry, with a look of hope and fear mixed on his face, stepped out of the coach. There was silence for a moment, well, audible silence, although the expressions on some of the faces spoke volumes. Everyone seemed to be waiting for the older couple to speak first. Gourry's father turned to his mother. Lina realised that in fact everyone was looking at the mother! Gourry came from a family where the women were in charge? Hey! Maybe he hadn't been kidding on their wedding night about becoming Gourry Inverse...

The woman finally spoke, her voice obviously emotional. "G-Gourry, have you come back to us then?" Gourry stuttered "M-M-M-Mother..." then suddenly they were hugging and the crowd broke out into joy. Gourry's father looked a little reserved, but greeted his son warmly when his mother was done hugging him. "Well, I see our beloved prodigal is back, welcome home my boy! I hear there is a long tale to be told about your doings since you left us! Get yourself inside and lets hear all about it!" "Yes he will Father!" said Rolf, cutting in, "But the first bit of news is here in the carriage still, and we need to bring her out first. You see, this rascal has gone and gotten himself married!" There was a bit of a stunned look fron the crowed, and Lina was sure that one or two of the younger women looked a little crushed. Well, if Gourry was raised in a warren of family and cousin's to what ever degree there was no doubt that, with the same good looks that had ensared even Lina's heart, that others should have been ensared. Gourry probably never realised, and Sylphiel was likely one of a long line. This was almost funny, but it was her cue and she was nervouse as all get out.

Gourry came to the carriage and with a big "I Love You!" smile said "Lina! Come meet my parents!" Lina couldn't help herself, she felt a trickle of sweat, damned nerves... She emerged, and with Gourry taking one hand, and a servile Trina taking the other (oh Trina could act the part when she wanted to, alright, no mistaking Lina was a Lady!) Lina stepped down onto the ground and locked her arm in Gourry's as he walked her over to his parents. "Mother! Father!" This is my wife, Lina!" Lina grew more nervous as his mother scrutinised her intensly. She dropped a nervouse little curtsy, which seemed to surprise, and soften, the older lady. She gave a big warm smile and said "Gourry! She's beautiful! Where ever did you find her?" "On the road, surrounded by bandits." was Gourry's simple and truthful reply. Lina blushed at that, but wasn't sure why. "Well don't stand there you lot!" interjected Gourry's father. Night's coming in, some of you sluggards show our guests proper courtesy and get the horses stabled and the guards relieved, then let's all eat!"

With that a sudden stir occured and several of the young men, and some of the women, went forward to move horses and people around. Meanwhile Gourry and Lina were shuffled inside. The house was rich, not in a stuffy, pretentious way, but in a way that showed that it's occupants had an enjoyment for the finer things of life, provided they were useable. So, for example, while there were rich tapestries on the wall, obviously meant for enjoyment, they also acted as a record of the Gabriev's history. Lina looked quickly, but realised there was too much to take in with a single sweep. Of course she wanted to know if she and Rowdy had made it on, but it would have to wait. She also noticed a small stack of neatly hung or racked weapons and shields by the doorway. The family was notable as a warrior family after all, she reflected, and it would only be logical to have weapons handy, but not to wear them in the house. Hense the rack by the doorway.

The main part of the building was a great hall, not unlike the one in Westhold, only more square in design, with the tables arranged around a central cooking and heating sort of fire. The servants were busy with preparations in the center and the various other family memebers took their places around the table, with Gourry and Lina seated at the head table in the places of honour. Gourry later explained to Lina that the servants were in fact family members who's turn it was to act that role, over the course of the year most of the members of the family took a turn acting that part, even he had taken turns when he was at home. Lina thought that was more fair, but, when asked, Trina had stated she felt that perhaps it was fine for a family, but in a great hall, with it's protocol demands, it would be impractical, if not impossible. But for now Lina was settled with Gourry on her right and her new mother in law on her left feeling rather caught up in something that was a bit beyond her. "This is so not like the old days..." she thought to herself, remembering how, in her wandering days she had been so in control. Then is struck her, the old days were only 2 and a half months, give or take, in the past. "This is going too fast..." she thought with a gulp. "Oh well, tonight I grin and bear it for Gourry, but, we gotta get out of here and get settled for awhile." she thought to herself some more. Then she sighed, that wasn't going to happen until after Naga's revenge wedding took place. "Later, Lina, think about it later." she finally told herself, pressing the rising panic back down where it belonged.  
Despite Lina's misgivings the evening went well. No parent who loved a child that ran away could fail to respond when the child came home, especially if he came home successful in the ways Gourry had. A name, a reputatuion, rich, well married, and with a sword that was possibly better than the one he left with, and by willingly exiling himself he had kept both a brother and a cousin alive, no, such a child could only receive a hero's welcome, and Gourry did. Over the course of the evening other family arrived from other great houses that were under the Gabriev banner. There were even a few brothers and close relatives of Norman who thanked Gourry for sparing his life. Norman himself had the sense to stay away. So a large meal was served and there was singing and dancing and of course Lina was dragged around by several relatives who wanted to meet Gourry's new wife, meanwhile Gourry was dragged around by several of his cousins who seemed to want gossip about Lina, or to bemoan that he hadn't warmed to them.

Gourry generally was simply too overwhelmed to say much of anything and so Lina then found herself hit upon by groups of women welcoming her to the family who seemed very interested in her, or in gossip about Gourry. She jusdiciously answered what questions she though advisable, and turned others away as diplomatically as she could, all the while feeling like she was giving more away than she meant to. She now had no doubt that the women tended to rule the roost in Gourry's family. She hoped that was good, at least Gourry would have no trouble with the idea that Lina was in charge when it mattered. Which she fervently hoped would be very rare. Finally, the dreaded moment Lina knew would come arrived. She was invited to sit down with her new mother in law and have a friendly little chat.

Lina knew instinctively that she'd better tell the truth with this woman, who seemed as sharp as the Blast Blade itself, and answer all her questions. With a sweat drop she hope would be passed off as just exertion from all the dancing she sat down and smiled at her mother in law. "So, um, Madam Gabriev?" she said trying to be friendly. The woman gave a little smile and said "Please, Lina, just call me Mother, like Gourry does." "Oh, okay, Mother Gabriev, thank you." The woman chuckled this time and replied "No, no, my dear Lina, just mother, this isn't a formal title." "I-I know..." said Lina. She decided to take the bull by the horns. "I'm sorry, I am just nervous. This is the first time you've had a chance to meet the woman your son has joined himself to for life, and I really do want you to approve of me. I don't know what you want to know, so I guess the best thing I can do is let you ask the questions and I'll answer you to the fullest and best that I can."

"Okay, that sounds like a good start." said Gourry's mother, her smile warming a bit. She now knew that Lina was smart, savy, and respectful of her son's family. She knew this as much because life had taught her to tell when people were playing the fake and while Lina's words could have been meant to fool her if Lina had been playing games, she could tell that Lina was genuine enough. A hand signal and wine was brought, another signal and the room backed away to give them privacy, though no doubt sharp ears were remaining just within range. "Well, let's not beat around the bush Lina." said Mother. "You are rumoured to be that sorceress Lina Inverse. Is that true?" "Yes, my maiden name is Inverse and I am indeed a sorceress specializing in black and shamanistic magic with an emphasis on fire magic. And life has conspired to make me more famous than I ever wanted it to, though I must implore you not to believe all the rumours that have been spread about me."

"So, you don't spook dragons then?" Mother asked with a teasing smile. "No, that rumour was started by a woman who is both a friend and a rival sorceress as a twisted sort of revenge for my getting the better of her in some spells or some battles we had been in. I know a spell called the Dragon Slave and it has been put to use fighting said creatures when they were attacking, and that was the basis for rumours that I do terrible things to the poor creatures. But it isn't true." "I see. How about being a bandit killer?" "Yes, there is more truth to that, I have killed in self defence when bandits attack. But usually I prefer to injure them in ways they will recover from then let them think about their life of crime as they recover. Gourry knows, he was with me as we cleared out most of the bandit gangs over the past few years." "Ah... so it was you and Gourry then, I thought I recognised him from the descriptions. But there are rumours you hung around with a woman of loose moral character before you met Gourry, and there are some rumours about your character too..."

"I expected this." said Lina with a sigh. "The woman was the same sorceress that started the Dragon Spooker rumours. He name at the time was Naga the White Serpent. Yes, she wore a most bizzar and revealing costume consisting mostly of a black bikini and shoulder spikes. No, she was not of loose moral character, in fact she was and still is, of the highest character, as I am. But she had other problems. I myself only found out two months ago that this woman I had spent almost two years of my life with is really named Gracia Ul Naga Seyruun, and is no one less than the missing crowned Princess of Seirune! But she never would tell me her past. Still, it did me some good, I was accepted by her younger sister and her father, and now I have a bit of an in at the court with His Majesty Prince Phillionel, who is her father, and I have had some adventures with Amilia her sister. By the way, Naga is now the Queen of Westhold, so Amilia is now the crowned princess. And by a twist of fate, Gourry accepted his Knighthood from Westhold's King before I had any say in the matter, an act that has made him a subject of Westhold, and when I married him I became a subject too, so now, she is my Queen."

"You seem less than pleased." chuckled Gourry's mom. "Well, I guess it's okay, it just isn't something I had realised I was getting into until after the fact. Not that it would have mattered, if that's the price, as it were, for the privelage of being Gourry's wife, I have no hesitation in paying it. I think I'm more worried about my upcoming wedding..." "Your what?" asked a surprised Mother. "Errrr, no, let me explain, let me explain!" said Lina, realising her need to clarify. She then went into a brief explanation of the war and chiefly of how Gourry was almost dead when he was brought back, a bit of news that obviously shocked his mother. She told of her long vigil beside Gourry right after her own misadventured of the war, and how she woke up on that fateful day to find him gone, and due to an unfortunate misunderstanding, she thought him to be dead. She then explained about the black hopelessness, the return at evening to have Naga laugh at her, not realising what she was feeling, and the fateful fireball. Then the aftermath, death being the expected outcome, a death to take her to the grave with Gourry, only to find mercy and understanding, and in the end, the very King who's Queen she had almost done in actually marrying her to Gourry in a quiet ceremony. "So now I'm Gourry's wife, and slave, and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. Only, Naga wants to throw me a public wedding, and no doubt get in a bit of public humiliation by way of revenge. Well, so be it, as long as she leaves Gourry alone..."

She looked up to find Gourry's mother just staring at her. Finally the woman started to laugh. "By the Gods! Lina, that is the most amazing thing I've ever heard!" Lina said "One last thing, if you have any more doubts about my virtue, Naga kept the sheets from my wedding night, like it or not, I can access physical proof of my virginity. And she has her own sheets too, if her virtue is still an issue." Mother simply dissolved into laughter. Finally she got up and gave a big hug to Lina. "Welcome to the family Lina! You've been through too much for me to doubt that my son means the world to you, no mother could ask anything more from her daughter in law! I know you'll take care of him, in your own way of course. Just don't forget to let him take care of you too, he'll want that." "Oh I know Mother, I know, and I am so grateful for it! Thank you for raising him to be like that!"

The two women hugged, and Lina finally calmed down and realised she had been given some sort of Gabriev seal of approval. Indeed, she soon realised that the family was now slowly gathering around her. Gourry was found somewhere and brought over to her, and the story telling began. It went long into the night, and Lina found herself with an appreciative audience listening to her tales of their adventures. Gourry did his best to add details but Lina was clearly the story teller. Yet somehow, the family seemed to accept this. They understood Gourry. Finally, it was the wee hours and a halt was called, Lina was ready to start yawning her head off anyway. As they were shown to their rooms Trina did manage to mutter something about not getting to serve her Mistress, but Lina simply told her she was on vacation too. Soon they were tucked in and the house finally quieted for the night. As could be expected, they all slept in.  
Late the next morning Lina awoke to find herself snuggled into Gourry's arms. He was awake and smiled down at her. Not knowing what to do, and not wanting to do anything anyway, she simply smiled back at him. Finally he spoke softly as he started to stroke her hair. "Thank you for last night. You impressed my family more than you realise, I think. My Mother doesn't usually take to people so readily. I hope you don't mind, I've tried to keep the visit to as reasonable a length as I could, but they are going to keep us for a week, I'm sure. I know they'd love to keep us forever if they could. The idea of me going off and starting a new branch of the clan, especially one outside of family control doesn't sit that well with all of them, but I don't think that I can go back to this now that I've been out for so long." "Me neither..." said Lina softly. "I'm having enough trouble with the fact we are giving up wandering and settling down in Westhold, even though it is obviously a good move. Still, I will miss some of the freedom we had I think."

Gourry smiled and replied, "Let's have this discussion again when you've got a baby in your arms. I mean, unless you are doing something magical to avoid that, it's going to happen sooner or later." "Yes, I know." she replied simply. "And no, I'm not trying to enhance or avoid it, I am perfectly willing to let nature decide the best time for all that. To be honest, I won't know for at least another week if it hasn't happened already, Queen Naga seems to feel she got with child on her wedding night. And yes, I realise I'm likely not going to miss wandering when I have our baby at my breast, but, I don't know, maybe when the children are grown I might miss it again. But we can deal with that then. And we will have a much bigger and better world to wander in when that time comes. But is there any particular reason we are talking about this?" she asked. "No particular reason, just being home again reminds me of how we all got here and I was just wondering what you were thinking about it all." Lina replied lazily "I think we should be a happily married couple who does what they want, when, and where, they want, as long as it's private of course, and leave the rest to the forces out of our control that have always regulated this sort of thing anyway." "Works for me too." said Gourry, in conclusion.

With that they finally got up and faced the day. Lina had gotten used to the bell pull that had summoned Trina at the castle and was a little at a loss of what to do here. Not that she couldn't go look for her own stuff, but was that what the Gabriev's wanted? Gourry however knew what the score was and went over to a small stove in a corner of the room. Soon a fire was blazing, just big enough to warm the water in the pot on top. Meanwhile he pulled their trunks out of closet and they sorted out some clothes for the day. There was a little quibbling as they decided how much like a noble lord and lady they wanted to be, so as to keep King Alfred happy with his "representatives", and how much like their usual casual selves they wanted to be to feel relaxed in. Lina had to admit that she had come to rely on Trina for advice, dressing properly had never been one of Lina's stronger points. She always liked to boast that the red and yellow garb she always wore was meant to be her "Sorceress extaordinaire" look, but deep down inside even she knew what everyone else did, she had poor taste.

Oh well, she stuck to basics she had picked up from Trina and Naga. She was pleasantly surprised to find a pant suit, white to be sure, but with red and yellow highlights. Bless that Trina, she thought of everything. It actually looked nice enough on her, and felt more comfortable, like her old clothes. Dresses and skirts were great, but she wasn't used to them and they always made her feel formal, even if they were supposed to be casual. Gourry had his usual blue on, but in a better cut than he used to wear, the tailors had been busy. No sign of the breast plate though. Oh well, he didn't need it here. He did however wear his sword, the Blast Blade rarely ever left his side, even at home. Lina tried on her power amplifiers, and to her delight, the jewels didn't seem out of place, even though they were of four different colours. Good enough. They went out.

Gourry was familiar with the place and soon they were back in the great hall from the evening before. The hall was quieter than the previous evening, which made sense, most of the family were out and about taking care of farm life. There had been a faint ringing of some blacksmithing going on somewhere, and the laughter of children at play. It was too early in the year for the winter time activities of spinning and weaving, the harvest was not far away and most of the farm activities were in preparation for that event. So Lina found that she and Gourry were in a far more relaxed environment than last night.

But the hall wasn't empty. At a table off to one side sat Gourry's parents. They had been waiting for Gourry and Lina to get up and now rose to greet the couple with gentle teasing about their being sleepyheads. Soon enough Gourry and Lina were at table and as they ate they talked. Things were not as strained nor as rushed as last night and the two couples finally got to start to really know each other. There were the usual boyhood tales of Gourry growing up, some of which caused him to blush, but Lina laughed, it was good to hear some history that she knew Gourry would never have thought to tell her. She tried to be honest with her own past, when asked, and sometimes she too was blushing while Gourry looked amuzed. And there were family tales, and history of old was told. Lina asked about Mispros island and was told many things that she hadn't known. She asked about Rowdy, and heard much more about him than she had been able to gather from her brief visit to the island, fateful as it had been. She even asked about the elf maiden Melirune, which raised an eyebrow or two, and was asked how she knew so much about that part of the family's history.

Lina quietly, and a little hesitantly, explained about the visit she made, and what she had done to change history with the help of the original Rowdy. Needless to say there was a bit of silence at the end, then Gourry's mother stood up and bid Lina come with her. She took her over to a piece of the great tapestry that hung in the hall and there, interwoven with many other things in the cloth were pictures of a small redhaired woman and a young blue haired man doing battle with a really mean looking eight foot tall, bipedal frog. Lina was amazed, here was the story in simple form of her battle with the demon Joyrock some thousand years ago, a battle that had begun only a few years ago when Lina was maybe all of just turning fifteen, and which had ended when Rowdy, then an old man of un-natural long life, about a thousand years or so, had sent her back in time where she had changed history by getting a young Rowdy to the battle at the village of the elves in time, instead of too late, and there, between her magic and his skilled use of the Sword of Light, the monster had been defeated and sent to the abyss. In amongst the pictures was a beautiful young girl, who must have been representing Melirune, the elf maiden Lina had met.

"So, we wouldn't even be here, we Gabrievs, were it not for you, Lina." mused Mother. Lina replied "I don't know, I have never thought about it that way. To be honest, I cannot recall if there was a clan Gabriev in Elemikia or not before any of this happened, I changed history, I suppose I changed my memories too..." "Hm, well, I don't know what sort of, oh, I don't know what to call it, lets say a "reward" would be appropriate in a case like this." said Gourry's mother, thinking hard. "I already have it." said Lina with a smile. "I feel honoured to be rewarded with the privelage of joining with your son and starting a new branch of the family Gabriev in a new land full of exciting possibilities. It is truely more than I deserve, though I admit to being greedy enough to want it." Gourry's mother laughed with a clear, pleasant laugh. "Well then my dear, I think we can afford to give you what your heart desires, and add to it every blessing that it is possible for humans to give each other. My golden boy as a reward, I felt he was destined for a special life, but I never imagined it to be like this. Still, to be allowed to be made a noble, in a new world, and a great hero of many epic battles, and married to a beautiful woman who truely loves him, all that so he can be a reward? Well, no mother can object to that! But is there nothing else?"

Lina pondered. "We are going to Mispros so I can see the statue again, the one of me and Rowdy that the elves made. I would love to see Melirune again, but I know she would be old, even by elvish count, probably she is dead. But does she have any family? Have the Gabrievs and the elves kept in touch?" asked Lina. "Well indeed we have. You are in luck, but you better not dawdle on the way, she is alive, last I heard, and would be in her eleven hundreth and something year of life. Most elve do live to between a thousand and twelve hundred years, so it is amazing but not surprising she is so long alive. I met her once, a long time ago, as a little girl. The elves as a whole have not kept up much correspondence with us, but Melirune remembers Rowdy and how her life was saved, and has taken an interest in the family's fortunes. Every direct line decendant of Rowdy has gone to see her at least once in their life. I was no exception. Yes, just to be clear here, it is through me, not his father, that Gourry is directly decended from Rowdy."

She gave a sigh. "It is also because of this that there was trouble, for my father had two wives in his life, the first, my mother, dying when young, and the second giving birth to Norman as her oldest. We call him a cousin, but he's really my half brother, though he was born only a year before my Rolf was. By the laws of succession, the sword had to come to the eldest child, who has usually been a male, but because I was a girl the question got asked "Eldest by which marriage?" There was a family council and it was bitter, but the vast majority were for me, and through me my children, inheriting, but some of the others couldn't accept this, and the feud broke my father's heart. He might be with us today if not for that, but alas. Now you know why the bad feelings that my Gourry reacted to. But, if he were fated to have the sword, perhaps all this had to be, certainly, the issue is now laid to rest, with the sword being gone."

Lina mused on this. Gourry's mother went on. "So, now the family's fortunes go east with you two, hmmm, that is good, there has been a terrible deal of cousin with cousin marrying withing this family, not that that is thought bad or evil here, although in some parts of the world I hear it is, still, we have turned in on ourselves too much. Fresh blood, to infuse our veins, before we become stale and start to rot, that's what we need! I hope, Lina, that you prove to be the first of many. Succession and decent from Rowdy will not be the issues they were in the past, with no sword to inherit, yes, it might just happen. And for your part, now that you have been allowed the mantle of nobility, well, who knows! A decendant with a drop or two of Rowdy vintage may, in the normal course of things, someday sit on the throne of your kingdom. Who knows? I don't, but hey why not? At least I can dream." She gave Lina hug then, seeing that Lina looked a bit overwhelmed by her words. "Oh, don't take me seriously Lina dear, I am not prophesying, nor promoting that you scheme and plot. Only an old mother musing on the fate of her family after her. You will understand better when your children are getting married and starting to move on too. So, go to Mispros, and see Melirune. She will be delighted, and Gourry hasn't made his visit to her yet either, this is wonderful. Come, let us rejoin the men, shall we?" she asked, leading Lina back to the table.

When they got there Gourry's father was holding and admiring the Blast Blade. "It looks plain enough, but it is magical, you can feel it!" said his father. "Oh, you two are back. What were you looking at? That spot on the tapestry with the battle against Joyrock? I thought so! So, a living legend! What a charmed life you lead Lina! Tell me, you sure this knucklehead here is good enough for you? We have many other fine Gabriev men who are single you know!" Lina wasn't sure what to make of this until Mother, trying not to laugh, bopped him on the head, which surprised Lina to no end. No wonder Gourry seemed to accept it so easily when she bopped him!

Gourry's mother got control of herself and said "And you are terrible, bait for brains! If she's happy with Gourry, don't you dare try to get her to trade up, we'll never get rid of him!" They both laughed as Gourry sat there with a pained look on his face. But not pain as if he had been rejected, rather pain that he was yet again being teased, and even the pained look seemed part of the ritual. Lina, after doing yet another double take got up and walked over to him and gave him a hug and said to her in laws "Nah, I've got him just about trained now, I'd hate to have to start over again." There was more laughter and Gourry said "Oh Lina, not you too...", a complaint that earned him a kiss on the cheek.

So the afternoon passed in it's own way. There were plans to make sure that some Gabrievs were at the up coming wedding. Then the supper hour came and the hall filled with people who could all eat like Gourry, and did. Lina did manage to impressed them by keeping up. There was a round of eating and drinking stories after that, plus lots of laughter, more merry making, a bit of dancing for those with the energy, while the others sang songs for them to dance to, and finally, they were let off to bed. And so, the week passed. At times it dragged a bit, more often it pressed in around them as family came from far and wide to meet the prodigal and hear of his fame and fortune. At times Lina felt herself to be a bit on display and there were some really tense moment when the press of people made her tempted to just apply the crowd control practices she had employed of old, namely to yell and scream and toss fire balls, but, these were Gourry's family, and he was just getting back to them after years of being an outcast, so she made a monumentally superhuman effort and restrained herself. However, it was mostly at the supper that this happened, during the day the family was too busy working the farm. Because they were perparing for harvest, and because he knew how busy it was Gourry offered to help and his father accepted his offer. Lina suddenly felt like she was being abandoned and some sniffles escaped. She tried to clamp down on them because she knew it was silly, but for some reason, she suddenly felt like her husband of not quite two weeks was abandoning her.

The family noticed and asked what was wrong. She tried to put it off as nothing, but her mother-in-law wasn't a wise woman for nothing. Rounding on Gourry and his father she gently but firmly put them in their place for not asking Lina if it was okay first. She then laid down the law. Gourry could help one day and get his male bonding needs out of the way, then he had to spend at least the next day after that showing Lina around the farm. All of it. Since it was several miles big it would take a good hike or three to do that. Lina felt a bit embarassed, but Mother smoothed it over, and by the end of the day all was well again. So, the new day dawned and Gourry went off to do wood cutting for the winter fuel supply. He took the Blast Blade of course, but he also swung a big axe over his shoulder.

Lina found herself in with a pile of self proclaimed "cousins in law" and got a crash course in labour management, time management, prioritizing, efficiency, and diplomacy, craftily disguised as house and farm work. She had to admit that Mother really knew how to keep everyone, from little children to grown women who were mothers in their own right, busy at their tasks while making it seem like fun. At first her heart quailed, she was going to have to step into this role in a few weeks when they got home and she became Mistress of her own hearth for the first time, but as the day went on she began to clue in to some of the basics and was a bit surprised to find she knew a lot of it already. She asked for help with the finer points and got more information than she could take in from the eager and friendly women. Anyway, by the time the men were returning that day with a lot more wood than they had ever cut before, Lina suspected the Blast Blade had been put to use "demonstrating" its remarkable properties, there was a major meal prepared, the hall was ready to receive, and Lina had learned a trick or two on the domestic front, like Gourry's favourite dishes, even his favourite preserves, something Lina hadn't ever heard him talk about and which, she realized with some chagrin, she had never thought to ask. It had been fun and informative. All the same, she was just as glad the two of them were going to go for a long walk tommorrow. And so they did.

Gourry took Lina for a walk, it felt good to roam around, just like they used to do a few months ago. They talked about everything, mostly about his family, but the future to, of course. Gourry showed her the woods, and some small lakes, even a private hot spring. He also showed her his favourite haunts from when he was a boy. Lina appreciated this glimps into how Gourry became Gourry. It didn't hurt that they were alone a lot, in some beautiful, and secluded places, either...

After seeming so daunting the week ended up going by too fast, and Lina was actually sad that they had to get ready to go one day. Not that there was anything else to do about it, and she was going to have her turn when she brought Gourry home for her week with her family. Plus, Melirune was waiting, if she knew it or not. They went to their bed, which, though not plush like the Queens golden bed in Westhold, had proven to be as comfortable. Trina was there, the girl had been packing, with lots of help from the various female relations who wanted to see some of the finery Lina had brought with her. This had been a bit trying for the poor girl as she wanted to do everything right, meaning her way, but the job was done, clothes laid out for the morrow, the bed turned down and ready.

"Oh Trina! haven't you taken it easy on your vacation?" asked Lina as she and Trina confered about tommorrows plans. "Well, yes, I did get to take in some of the sun today. It was good. And I got to see that Sir Gourry has a very handsom family." she replied. "Meaning that some of the men took a liking to you no doubt?" Lina said softly. "Yeah, they did. I don't know Lady, it's way too soon after the war for me, but in a mild way it was good to feel that, when I'm ready, life is waiting to go on for me. Maybe we could come back in a year?" Trina said with a soft smile. "We shall see..." said Lina with a soft smile of her own. She felt good. Trina would remember her fallen lover, but she would go on. She sent the girl to bed and then went to her own. Gourry wasn't sure where her passion had come from, but after that first fierce kiss, he was too busy to take time to think... 


	22. vChapter21

Chapter 21 xxxxxxxxxx

The next morning came early, as Lina was awakened to get ready by Gourry. They wanted to go with the sun, they had a long ride, and the days were slowly shortening as a herald of the coming fall. They dressed and went out, they were fed, tearful farewells were made, and a promise to come to Westhold to let Gourry and Lina return the favour of playing host. Promises of meeting again at the wedding in Zefielia were made too. The six soldiers, looking very well rested indeed, were in their usual place as Lina and Gourry went out. Final hugs, and they were in the coach. With a rumble it started, final waves, and the scene slipped away finally to that of the road south. It was a bit over cast and there was a tinge of cool in the air. It was far to soon for a nip, and a bit too early for the fall rains, but there were signs the seasons marched on apace. "I hope they can get to the harvesting before the rains come." said Gourry as he looked at the sky. Lina also looked and said "I don't think anything big will fall for a week or two yet, even then it would be early." Gourry hugged her with one arm and joked "Have you been practicing weather magic then?" Lina snuggled up and replied "Not yet, that's a whole other field of study, and it can take as long as black magic to learn to do well, still, the future looks promising for such studies." she chuckled to herself. "I wonder if I can learn to make one of those little clouds that only hang over one person as they rain? Naga better watch put if I do..." "Hmmm," replied Gourry. "I thought someone said her speciality was water magic, you sure that wouldn't be just giving her amunition?" Lina smiled, and agreed he had a point that would have to be kept in mind.

The road south rolled on, proving uneventful. Lina almost wished she and Gourry had left a few of the bandits alone, it would have made for a break. But there was plenty to talk about, Lina related some of her adventures in the area with Naga which Gourry hadn't heard of before. And being Gourry it usually took more than one telling before he got it straight. Sometimes Trina rode with them and had a hard time trying to decide when to laugh and when to look shocked at such revelations about her Queen.

By the end of the week the air was warmer and there was the return of the salt tang that meant the ocean, then one day they were at the docks and ready to board the ferry to Mispross island. Lina described how the first time she had been there the trip had taken several days in an ocean going ship, but now, thanks to Lina, the island was back where it should have been all along, and a short boat ride of about an hour or so, depending on the winds, and you were there. And so they were. It was a pleasant afternoon when they landed. They had managed to leave three of the guards behind with the coachman and the horses, and so a smaller party disembarked. Still, two obviously rich people, with three uniformed and armoured body guards, plus a maidservant, and paying the porters generously obviously attracted attention. To a certain extent it was good, they only had to show their money at the hotel to have the best rooms instantly laid open to them. Some of it was bad as various people politely, and impolitely, stared at them. Of course, if there was any criminal element on the island, it recognised them quickly and made sure to stay away, which ensured a peaceful trip.

Just as well, they didn't have long and Lina really wanted to see Melirune. Not so easy, as first one had to find the elves, who were more secretive of late. So the first day was restricted to checking in and sight seeing. Feeling safe, they were even able to set Trina and the three knights loose so they could go hunt for souveniers while Gourry and Lina wandered alone at last through the port city. Of course, they found the statue easily enough, and Gourry spent a very long time just staring at it. "Wow, you and Rowdy after the defeat of Joyrock. And look! The Sword of Light! Well, well." he finally said, a note of awe in his voice. "And I'm your reward for this? Suddenly I feel inadequate, Lina. I always knew you were very special, but this..., just how special are you Lina?"

Lina looked at Gourry with a dumbfounded look, then began to laugh. "What on earth do you mean, Gourry? Isn't it obvious I'm the most special, wonderful, beautiful, and talented sorceress that ever lived?" Gourry smiled and replied "Well, okay, I don't know if I said that right, but seriously, you change time, destroy Sabradnigdo and Hellmaster, are feared by other Mazoku, get possessed by, and set free by, the Lord of Nightmares herself, posses great magical powers, know Kings and Queens on a first name basis, even have them grateful to call you friend, defeat every known bandit, destroy dragons, most lately had a great part in the victory over the east, and I'm supposed to be some sort of reward? Because you helped a village of elves, a family of humans, and a magically enchanted island?"

Lina gave Gourry a big hug and said "You Jellyfish! You've left out the fact that all those things I did were done because I had help. If I had to do any of that alone, I'd be dead now. Travel in time and change the past? I was sent back by your ancestor Rowdy to help him, not the other way around. Destroy Shabradnigdo? The first time it was only because you let me cast a spell on the Sword of Light. If I didn't have it, I'd never have defeated him, and even then it only worked because the spirit of Rezo the Red Priest fought back from within the monster. The second time? Well, I did that with Naga and Lark, but only because you, and Zel, and Amilia, and Sylphiel were battling that horde of monsters that attacked us so that I could have the freedom and safety to work. Hellmaster? I only reason I took the Lord of Nighmares inside myself was because I wanted to save you. I was willing to be lost forever to myself in return. But you pulled me back. When we defeated Darkstar you were as important as I was to all that. Those bandits? Before you, I just robbed from them, it was only with you I defeated them. We were together when we set back Dynast. And you saw what happened when we were apart in this war, I made a great blow but it wasn't enough, someone else, Sylphiel infact, struck the winning blow. You won a victory and ended up with your life on a razor's edge. You said it was my song that brought you back from the pit. And I sang it in desperation at the thought of losing you. As far as that goes, when I thought I had, I almost got myself executed, and you saved me. Don't you get it Gourry? I'm not great, not without you! I seem to be the one who gets the publicity and the praise, but it's really "us", not "me" that is special"  
"Sure, I did a lot of stuff with Naga that seems exciting, and some of it was important and involved saving people, but I couldn't do it without her, that's why we are friends now. But I didn't hit my stride until you came into my life. So, why are you insecure?" She then smirked at Gourry and asked "Is your brain running out of yoghurt or something?" It was Gourry's turn to laugh as he hugged her back. "No." he replied. "It's just that every now and again I get reminded of what a shining girl you really are, and, well, it's a bit overwhelming realising that someone like you finds someone like me important. I might be a Knight of the realm and all that, but I wasn't raised that way, at heart I'm just a farm boy really." Lina replied "Well, so what? You think a merchant's daughter feels any more secure in life than a farm boy? In truth, I think it has been my tremendous insecurity that has driven me on more than anything else. Anyway, if I'm a shining girl, you are my Knight in shining armour, never mind this realm business, so there." "Ah, I get it." said Gourry. "You are the sun that my shiny armour reflects!" he laughed and Lina chuckled "Well, of course!" They then linked arms and with one last look at the statue they turned and made there way back to the hotel where they were staying.

The next morning they were awakened by Trina who had a perplexed look on her face. Apparently there was a special visitor to see them downstairs. No she didn't know what sort, a young woman, but the locals seemed to find her an object of interest, and they were even a bit in awe of her, or so it seemed to Trina. Oh well, nothing for it but to get up. They dressed in a hurry and in short time they made their way downstairs, Trina and the guards making up the rear. As they entered the main room the people in it seemed to melt away leaving a clear path to a stunningly beautiful young woman, tall, graceful, with long flowing hair the colour of cherry blossoms. She turned to face Lina and gave her a curtsey. Lina stopped. If the young woman's pretty, but pointed ears hadn't given it away, the crystal clear light in her eyes would have, she was an elf. And she looked familiar! Lina couldn't help but stare. "You- you're not, how... who..."

The elf maid smiled and said "You didn't think the elves of Mispross would have forgotten Lina Inverse, did you my Lady? And now Lina Gabriev! Well, expected, but news for sure! I am Astra, granddaughter to..." "Melirune!" finished Lina. "Oh, I wondered how I would find her people again. Thank you for coming Astra. And please, drop the "Lady" stuff, for you and yours I am forever just "Lina" okay?" "As you wish, Lina." replied Astra with a smile. "Shall we go? It isn't that far." Lina looked at Trina and the guards. "Errr, what about...?" she started to ask. "Oh, they are welcome to come to the village too." replied Astra. "Westhold isn't it? No elves there, though surprisingly there are some farther east. Let them come and learn who we are, so they can make an accurate report." "Oh thank you." said Lina.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see a look of delight on Trina's face, elves were, well, elves, and a rare chance to visit them was not to be missed if possible. Lina chuckled, seeing Trina's reaction to the wide world over the trip reminded Lina of herself when she first left home, and had gotten over the shock of that trauma. They walked out into the city, through the gates, and finally into the countryside. It was a beautiful day for a walk, a blue sky overhead, white puffy clouds drifting along, blocking out the direct sun, but not the full colour of the day. It was a bit hot, especialy for the Westholders, who were used to a more northerly climate. In fact they were far enough south that that, plus the sea's moderationg influence, had put the summer back by atleast two weeks. There were green pastures, fields ripening to the harvest, wooded walks, and flowers everywhere. Mispross might not be the mystery island it once was, but it was as beautiful as Lina remembered.

In what seemed no time at all, though they must have walked at least an hour, they came to a small village. And it was full of elves. Elves in abundance, all of whom had turned out to see Lina. They gave three cheers for lina, and three cheers for the Gabrievs and a short but sweet welcome to the village. After all, in the original scenario their grandfathers and mothers would have all died a thousand years ago to the attack of the dread demon Joyrock. Lina and Rowdy had changed all that. Only the most ancient of elves now alive were able to say they had been there that day, all of the elves younger than that were all born only because Lina and Rowdy had saved their parents. And they had remembered this, and were overjoyed to greet their saviour. It was a rare and special relationship. Lina couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Finally she was brought to a small house and was ushered in by Astra. There were more elves inside and they stood up when Lina entered. They greeted her warmly. Astra's parents were there as were some aunts and uncles and cousins. More thanks were given. Astra dissappeared into a back room, then came out a minute later and asked Lina "Are you ready?" Lina gulped, then, taking Gourry's hand, nodded.

Astra led them into a back room. An old, old woman lay in the bed, propped up on pillows, with concerned women sitting on each side of her, daughters most likely. They rose and smiled at Lina as she entered and was lead over to the bed. Lina looked at the woman. She was old, like the hills were old. A thousand and more years of life had lft their mark. Yet, it was not a bad mark. Of course, the hair was grey, and not thick like it was in her youth. Her face was wrinkled, yet it had an inner beauty still. And her eyes were as clear as they had been in her youth when Lina last saw her. For there was no mistaking her identity, regardless of her age. "Melirune!" said Lina in quiet awe.  
Melirune held out her arms and Lina kissed the old woman, a rare enough honour among the elves, almost unheard of between elves and humans. "Melirune, for me, only a few years, for you, so much time!" said Lina as she took an offered chair. The old elf lady smiled at Lina with a genuine warmth. "Well, it isn't as if you could have come and visited is it, Lina? How have you fared? I see that time has brought you an increase of beauty and joy, as well as sorrow. Well, well. Come, tell me your story"  
So Lina told Melirune about herself, as much as the old elf wanted to know. There were even a few reminissences about the last time they met. Upon hearing how Lina had tried to get the sword of light even then there was a chuckle from behind Lina, which promptly lead to Gourry also being introduced. Joy lit up the elder elf's face. "How like Rowdy you are, when he had grown to be a man!" she said. "Tall, and handsome, loyal, true, and a good friend he was. I am honoured to have met you at last, the Gabriev ment for Lina the saviour." Gourry too was quizzed about his life. Melirune was very interested in the part where the Sword of Light was used to defeat and drive back Darkstar. She nodded when they explained how the sword was given back. "Yes, it did always have an "other-worldly" quality about it, I wonder how it ever got here? No matter, what is important is the future, and with you two together now, it seems to bode well, for you and for all of us."

They talked some more but eventually it was plain the old woman was tiring. With reluctance, on both sides, Lina said farewell to Melirune and received the elder's blessings. With a tear in her eye she finally turned to go. The family thanked her and Astra hugged her. Lina assured them that she knew the way back to the hotel and so the group returned alone as the sun approached noon. It was warmer now, and so they sat beside a cool stream. Lina asked Trina what she thought of the elves. Trina was silent for a long moment and then finally she said that it was overwhelming to meet creatures thought to be of ledgend in the flesh. And they were so gracefull and fair, a delight to behold. She hoped she might meet them again someday, but if not, it was a memory she would treasure for her life. "You never know." said Lina. "Some might come east to seek old links severed for a thousand years by the Mazoku." Trina nodded at that. Soon enought they were back at the hotel. The guards asked and were allowed to go out sight seeing. Trina prefered to stay with her Mistress, so the three friends decided to go for a soak in a hot spring. As they were relaxing in the water Lina amused them with tales of adventures she had with Naga and on her own in hot springs, everything from how Naga fought and defeated the shady owner of the spa on their first visit to Mispross to the time Prince Phil and one of his brothers had accidentally stumbled upon Lina as she was soaking in a tub, and received a justly delivered fireball in return.

"I don't remember Phil ever telling me about that..." said Gourry, scratching his head in puzzlement. Lina rolled her eyes. "Would you have told him if it had been you, my Jellyfish?" she asked in a slightly annoyed, slightly amused tone of voice. "Don't know..." said Gourry, still thoughtful. "I guess it would depend..." Lina was shocked and, even thought she had a swimsuit on, suddenly moved to cover herself as though she were naked. "And just what would it depend on!" she said, horror in her voice. "Huh?" asked Gourry. "Oh, errr, nothing!" he went on. Lina asked, a note of danger in her voice, "Gourry! Is that what men do? What have you told Phil, even Zel, now that you've seen me like no other man ever has?" Gourry stared at Lina as the penny very slowly dropped. "Huh? No, that's not what I meant!" he said atlast. "I meant it would depend on if the story was funny or not. The way you tell it, it's a laugh, I just never heard him say it. Gee, you'd think I was telling people how sexy you look naked or something..." Lina buried her face in her hands, then, with unerring precision, punched Gourry in the head. Gourry sprawled and Lina said with exasperation "Men! Can't live with them, can't fireball them! Oh wait! Yes you can!" she concluded looking at Gourry with a hard stare. Meanwhile Trina was in danger of drowning as she laughed so hard that she was having trouble remembering to keep her head above water.

Tea was ordered from a somewhat frettful waiter who had seen the incident and who hastened to keep on Lina's good side. However, he needen't have worried, hurry though he did by the time he got back with the order the lovebirds were kissing and making up like they had just invented it. Trina was doing her best to make it seem that nothing was going on. So the afternoon was passed. When the guards returned in the evening plans were made to do some hiking and camping out the next few days to see what was seeable. Lina enjoyed that thoroughly, it was like the good old days again, and she realised she had been getting a bit soft living in the castle. The end result was that a thoroughly pleasant vacation was had by all, there was little if any trouble, and Gourry and Lina had plenty of time to themselves to be in love and newly married.  
Finally the day of departure came and Lina woke to find confirmation that she wasn't pregnant. "Some things never change..." she muttered as she went to clean up. Trina tactfully packed the white garments away and went with darker clothing. Lina remembered the good old days of her sorceress' costume and all the times she had to clean it by herself on a nightly basis. Now she had trunks of clothes to choose from. Well, no matter, whenever Naga invited her over to work on the Tablets of Thoth she'd still wear it, but hey, she was getting to like having a change now and again. So they got washed and ready, they had a last big breakfast, and paid up, to the relief of the hotel owner who was just about out of food anyway. The crew made its way over to the dock for the ferry.

It was a short time to wait before boarding so they sat down and looked out over the sea, watching that restless body of water slosh around. Suddenly a delicate voice hailed them and they turned to find Astra greeting them. She smiled pleasantly, but there was a certain sadness about her, and she was dressed in white. Lina greeted her, then remembered something that many mortal men didn't even know. Elves wore white in mourning the way humans wore black. The smile didn't leave her face butit softened as the realisation set in. "Oh Astra, it's Melirune isn't it? I'm so sorry." A tear escaped Astra's eye but she said "I thank you Lina, but don't be sorry, she had a wonderful and full life, and it was her time, indeed, I think for the past little while she somehow knew she was just waiting for you. Thank you for coming, your visit meant the world to her, I just wanted you to know that."

Lina gave the elf girl a little hug. "I am so glad I had the chance to meet her again. I will never forget her." she said. Astra smiled again and said "I appreciate that Lina, it means a lot to us. I have something for you. She asked that this be given to you as a token of rememberance." Astra unfolded a small cloth and presented Lina with a small locket. When Lina opened it she saw a cameo of a young Melirune on one side and one of Rowdy as a young man on the other. "Grandmother had this done by an elf craftsman as a token of friendship and thanks for Rowdy. It was given back when he died, the Gabriev's felt she would want it to remember Rowdy by, I guess they didn't realise how good our memories are. Anyway, she tucked it away and kept it all these years, feeling that one day she'd see you again. Now she wanted you to have it so you could remember, and so that the Gabriev's would have a keepsake to remember by as well."

Lina looked at Astra, tears in her eyes too. She hugged Astra again and promised that she would never ever forget. The two women smiled at each other for a few seconds, then the call was given to begin boarding. A final little bow from each side and they turned their seperate ways, when Lina glanced back Astra was gone. They boarded, and Lina sat snuggled up to Gourry contemplating the meaning of life and death. Soon they were underway and after a little more than an hour they were docking back on the mainland. They found their gear, and the coach was ready, and the whole crew set out and turned north again, north to Seirune and Zephielia, and the wedding. Still, thinking of Melirune kept Lina quiet for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, she was a lot brighter the next morning. She would never forget the Melirune but she realised that the best way to honour her was to live her life to the fullest, just as the elf woman had. Now they were in familiar territory as they were entering in to the southern end of Seirune. Lina and Gourry were busy remembering some of their adventures and laughing over their memeories. They were alone in the coach, as was usual, and so they took every opportunity to laugh and remember. Of course, at some points Lina remembered something Gourry did that rather ticked her off, and that she hadn't been able to deal with him for it, which resulted in several near bops to the head for Gourry, but some rapid abject begging and promising never to do it again, if only he could remember what it was he had done, and Lina relented. Well, they did cost him a kiss for each incident, a real one, full of passion and promise, and that he was reasonably able to deliver. Actually Gourry had a sneaking suspicion that Lina might have made some of them up just to get him to make up more, but it wasn't like he was objecting or anything.

They rolled in to all their old favourite restaurants along the way and had as much of a party as they could. Partly it was because they were young, rich, and on their honeymoon, and partly it was because Lina dreaded the upcoming wedding. If only she had held back that fireball... Finally, they rolled in to Seirune city, the capital, and made their way to see Amilia and Zel and Phil again. It was a joyous reunion. The capital was aggitated with the upcoming royal wedding of Amilia to Zelgadiss. Apparently Phil had been able to persuade the nobles, the council, and the populace that Zel was a chimera only on the outside, and, what ever misgivings there might have been, all levels of society had apparently approved. Well, time would tell, there was no going back now, civil war or not. But for now the buzz around town was all wedding talk, and the city was being turned into a showcase.

Amilia confided to Lina she wouldn't mind trying tossing a fireball at someone if she would get the same results that Lina did. Lina gave a nervous laugh and with a sweat drop or two tried to disuade the Justice Princess from being so rash. Amilia immediately said she was only teasing, but Lina couldn't tell for sure, the look on Amilia's face might have been a little too serious. Finally Lina said "Amilia, just wait and see how my wedding goes, who knows, you might change your mind about the whole thing..." Amilia gave Lina a strange, startled sort of look and then said, "Okay..."

The meal was the usual superb Seirune fare, of course, and they all went to bed feeling happy for one more night of peace among friends. The next morning was an early start so they could push into Zefielia by nightfall. Lina, however, found it hard to sleep. She was dealing with the realization that she would never again be free to wander the world once she settled down, and that dropping in to see Phil and Amilia and Zel would be a thing of the past. Not that she resented it, nor did she regret it, but it was another life change for her to deal with. In the end she settled by snuggling in to Gourry who held her tight. A vision of that little peek she had of Naga's private life, the time she woke her friend up to tell her about Phil's coming, returned. Lina smiled. If Naga the White Serpent could find peace in this world, so could Lina Gabriev, and it would be in the same place for both of them, secure in the arms of the men who loved them more than life itself. Finally she settled into a peaceful sleep.

Needless to say it was interupted far too early as they were roused for the trip. But oh well, the whole adventure would soon be over, and then..., they would see. Up, dressed, a good breakfast. Lina had an urge to walk, they had been in the carriage so long, but they wouldn't get to Zefielia by nightfall if they did, so, with a sigh she made ready to board again. "Well, at least we can stop at our "favourite" inn on the way!" she joked to Zel. "I wonder if what's his name, um Floater, owns it yet?" Zelgadiss looked down and a sadness came to his face. "What's wrong?" asked Lina in a small voice. "Frederick, that was his name, went with us to the war." said Zel. "Went with us, and didn't come back." He sighed deeply and then said "Bloody hell!" with a lump in his voice. Lina sniffed too and a tear ran down her cheek. The day was definitely more somber than it had been a minute ago. And to think, she was mourning for a guy who was seconds away from a fireball for being impertinent when she first met him.

The friends shook hands or kissed as was appropriate and silently mounted the carriage. Amilia, Zel's arm secure around her shoulder smiled and promised they'd meet again in a week for the wedding. Lina gave a smile as the coach started and they were off. The weather was appropriately grey and cool. Trina had accepted the invitation to ride with them this day, it would be a bit better in the coach. After a few minutes of reflection Lina started to brighten again, and soon the three of them were in conversation. They even tried their hand at some silly word games and then they learned a few songs native to Westhold, and Lina taught a few from the mysterious west to Trina. Thus the day was passed, and meals eaten, and an hour after sunset, as darkness began to get too deep to be twilight anymore they finally made it.

Despite the gloom a large crowd was on hand, lining the streets or milling outside Luna's finest hotel which had been put entirely over to Lina's visit and the upcoming wedding with its important visitors. The carriage rumbled to a stop and Trina opened the door to let Lina and Gourry out. Lina went first, and was not even on the ground before she was mobbed. Her sister grabbed her in a big hug and swung her around while screaming with joy. Lina shouted too and suddenly found herself gently but firmly put into her mother's arms.

It had been nine years since she had been there last. She shieked "Mom!" once then burst into tears of overwhelming love, and relief, and joy. A great cheer rose from the crowd to welcome Zefielia's most famous daughter back home. Lina clung to her mother and wept and wept, her mother giving as good as she got. For a long time all they could say was "I love you!" to each other. In the meantime Gourry had more quietly made his way out of the coach and was immediately taken into a welcoming handshake by Theoderic and a rather dignified looking older gentleman. Even Gourry had no trouble realising who he was, Lina had his face! In a woman's form of course, but this was his father in law! He could also see that the older man had the muscles of a swordsman. Gourry suddenly found himself hoping he measured up, if there was one man besides his own father he didn't want to disappoint it was Lina's dad. After a nervous exchange of greetings, at least on Gourry's part, he was immediately taken charge of by his brother in law and was gently swept into the hotel along with everyone else who was family.  
As she came through the door there was a sudden blur of red hair and Lina's knees were tackled... by a younger version of herself! "I'm sorry for scaring you last time Auntie Lina! I promise I won't do it again!" Lina was startled again by how much the little girl resembled herself when young, but this time she wasn't shocked into a ridiculous response. In a clean sweep she lifted the child up and hugged her hard and long. "You didn't scare me precious, I scared myself." Lina said to her. "It just happened when you were there. I am sorry I upset you. But hey! We can visit now, right?" she added with enthusiasm. "Right!" said the girl with equal enthusiasm, Lina was sure one day she'd turn it into a cheerful "Victory"  
"What's your name?" Lina asked, realising she hadn't been introduced yet. "I'm Lana!" the girl responded brightly. Lina looked over to Luna and said "Lana huh? Figures..." Luna just laughed. Gourry muttered "Well, at least it isn't La-La..." Lina gave him a startled little look, then a slow, slightly dangerous smile, and said "No, Gourry dear, there's only ever going to be one La-La..." Gourry immediately sweatdropped and put his hand behind his head, saying "Oh, er, right, I suppose that's true, he, he..." Naturally Lana wanted to know "What's a La-la Aunt Lina?" Lina gave Gourry a look and said "You want to field this one?" "Er, um, uh, well..., no." was the answer. Lina looked at Lana and said "Once upon a time your Uncle Gourry and I had to escape from some bad people. To do this we had to disguise ourselves. All we could get was some women's clothing, so we had to dress up as girls. Including your Uncle there, who pretended to be a girl named La-la. It worked, and we got away."

Lana was dumbfounded. "You dressed up as a girl Auntie? Weren't you already a girl?" "Er, well, yes, but I dressed up as a different girl. My name was Li-li. And we had the help of a third girl traveling with us and her name was Lu-lu, but her real name is Amilia." Lina smiled at her niece but sweat was trickling down her forehead. She really, really didn't want to tell that story to a four year old, and worse, she was getting the giggles all over again remembering about the self styled hero Volun and his affection for La-La. Fortunately, Lana saved the day. "Ame-Amilia? OH! She's got the same name as that Princess lady!"

"Eh?" asked Lina. "Oh, Lana is at the stage where she's just mad about princesses." replid Luna with a smile. "For some reason she's really taken to the Princess Amilia from Seirune, probably because she has also been made famous by her adventures." "Ah, a sort of guilt by assocciation thing, you mean..." replied Lina with a sly smile. Then she put her hands on Lana's shoulders and looked the child in the eyes, which she noticed were reddish as well, though not as deep as Lina's, some influence from her mother's purple eyes no doubt. She said "Well, if you like the Princess Amilia so much I have a real surprise for you, little love." "Oh I do, I do like her so much Auntie Lina! A surprise? What is it?" enthused the little girl. "Well, two things actually." said Lina, "First, the Amilia lady in my story has the same name as the Princess, because she IS the Princess Amilia of Seirune!"

That news seemed to send Lana into a fit of exctasy. She couldn't stop bouncing around and said "She's your friend?" to Lina several times. Lina felt the sweat dropping again and asked Luna "Do I dare tell her the rest?" "Yeah, might as well." her sister replied with a motherly laugh. "Yeah, don't worry about it, Lina, we'll try to hold the most destructive force of nature since, well, er, you, in check once you give her the good news." added Theo, getting into the conversation finally. Lina caught her breath and then exhaled slowly while trying to glare at her brother in law. Finally she chuckled and said "On your heads then.  
Listen Lana," she went on, talking to the little girl again, "do you know what's happening in a week?" Lana stopped dancing in circles and thought. "Um, mommy said you were getting married again, Auntie Lina. What's a married?" Lina smiled. "It's a special, um, ceremony for grown ups, where two people tell each other that they want to be special friends for the rest of their lives, but you can certainly come and watch! Maybe even help." she replied. "Well put." said Luna, who had not quite known how to explain it herself. Lina smiled, then went on "The important thing though is this. When people come to get married, their friends come from all around to wish them well and to give them a party to celebrate. Well, guess who's coming to the party?" Lana stared at her wide eyed, waiting for some revelation. Lina didn't dissapoint. " Auntie Lina's friend, the Princess Amilia!"

Lana took about half a second to process then ran off into the house, screaming at the top of her lungs. Lina blew out a puff of breath, well, at least that went okay. "We have got to learn how to harness that energy!" muttered Theo. Luna laughed and said "Well, that made her week, I'm sure!" Lina got up again and snuggled into Gourry for a hug. "I wonder how she's going to take it when she finds out about Na..er, Queen Gracia and King Alfred also coming?" "Dunno," said Luna, "I don't think she gets the relationship yet, she's just into Princesses. Ah well, Lady Amilia will have a fan, that's for sure. "Do her good." said Lina with a laugh.

Lina then went over to the one person she hadn't greeted yet, her father. "Daddy." she said quietly, and sank into his embrace with the biggest smile a little girl ever had for her father. She didn't cry, she had spent all her tears with her mother, but she had lots of smiles left and now she spent them freely. Her father smiled down on her, then said to Gourry "Pardon me." and scooped Lina up, carried her over to his chair at the table, and sat down with her on his lap. "I wish I could make up to you for all the years you should have had my lap to sit in as a little girl, my precious." he said, holding her close in a warm, fatherly embrace. "You're off to a good start Daddy." muttered Lina dreamily. She finally felt like she had come home. They didn't talk much that first night, but she stayed in his lap for a very long time, not even leaving it to eat. Convention be damned, she was finally where she had wanted to be for so long, and no one was taking her away from her father or her mother until she was ready to go.

Well, eventually she did let go, it was bed time and Gourry had come to collect her. For him, anything, even leaving her parents. But only for him. After they had tucked into bed Gourry gave her a long hug and whispered "Lina, that was beautiful." "What's that?" she asked dreamily, snuggling in to him closer. "The smile you had on your face when your daddy hugged you. I don't know how to explain it, but it makes me want to have a daughter who would smile at me like that. I dunno, maybe I'm selfish or something." Lina opened her eyes and looked at Gourry for a long time. Then she said "That's not selfishness Gourry, that's the fatherly part of your heart waiting for a child of your own to love."

She smiled sweetly at him then asked, in a teasing tone "You do know where babies come from don't you?" Gourry smiled back and said "No actually, teacher, I don't." calling her by a nick name he sometimes used on her. Lina saw the teasing twinkle in his eyes and it made her smile, which rather spoiled her attempt to look serious, then, lightly poking the tip of his nose with her finger, said "Pay attention! Class is in. Lesson one, the kiss!"

In the end, Gourry was given an A plus on his final exam...

The week went by too quickly for Lina. Family and friends, messengers from important people, even from the palace of the Eternal Queen herself quickly overwhelmed Lina. Fortunately Lina's mom was as quick as Gourry's mother to see that Lina and Gourry needed time to themselves no matter what, and many times Lina would find herself shoo'd out doors in the morning with Gourry to take a walk. Lina didn't mind in the least, it felt good to be out with Gourry in public or in private, holding hands, stealing a kiss, and not carring who knew, because they were married. Several of her old playmates showed up to offer congratulations, and more than a few to secretly, or not so secretly, drool over Gourry and find themselves wishing they had Lina's luck.

But Lina wasn't the sort to keep that sort of score and the walks were pleasant. They toured Lina's old haunts the way they had toured Gourry's haunts earlier, and if Gourry didn't get everything he did get that this all was part of shaping Lina into the kind of woman he simply couldn't live without and he was delighted to see whatever she had to show him. They even dared to skinny dip in Lina's old swiming hole but shyness didn't leave them in the stream very long. Still, it was enough to give them a wonderful memory. And it was good for them to be alone in the mornings because the afternoons were full with other people. Then, two days before the end of the week things started stirring in the town, and especially at Luna's hotel. Some large boxes started arriving, from Westhold, as well as reports of the nearness of the King and Queen. At almost the same time similar things started arriving from Seirune. The town square was cleared of the ususal daily traffic, and people started preparing a great pavilion, decked out for a wedding. Lina gulped, several times. The date was announced; to Lina it seemed almost as if it were for an execution. On the eighth day since her arrival home, all would be ready, and Lina would be married to Gourry, publicly, in a wedding of, gulp, Naga's design.

"Some of these are sealed and locked." remarked Luna at one point as they off-loaded boxes. "Probably your wedding dress." she added ominously. Lina looked a bit green, but Luna gave her a hug and said "No sense worrying till you must, cheer up sis! And don't forget, I must do what I must, but in the end I am on your side no matter what." Lina hugged her for a long minute then gave a laugh and said "And if we two sisters stand together, who can really do anything against us?" Luna laughed too, though a tear of happiness glinted in her eye, she really was grateful to have her relationship with Lina healing. As was Lina.

The next day, with Naga still some hours away, a delegation of honour guards arrived at the inn, and soon a great coach bearing the heraldry of the House of Seyruun and the Kingdom of Seirune. Amila and Phil, not to mention Zelgadiss, had arrived, and in style, as befitting the occasion. It was most impressive and was obviously burning itself deeply into little Lana's tender memory. She hid behind her mother, shivering, and repeatedly asking, to poor Luna's distraction, "Is it really a Princess mommy, is it? Huh? Is it?" Luna was about at her wits end as the footmen ran over to open the doors when Lina scooped her niece into her arms and said "Lana, you better let me take you over, that way they'll know you are my special niece, okay?" Lana was wide eyed at everything, but said "Okay." and shivered patiently in Lina's arms.

It didn't take long, there was an impressive fanfare, a cheer fom the crowd, and Phil stepped out, followed by Zelgadiss, then, with the two men to flank her, and the honour guard from Zefielia to walk between, out came Amilia in a pretty pink and white dress that looked the princess part perfectly. Of course, she was going for effect, and it had more than the desired effect on Lana. The little girl, overcome by the emotions started to cry and hiccough to her aunt "It's a real princess Auntie Lina!" Amilia who was making her way over to Lina anyway, gave the little girl a curious smile. "Lina!" she said giving her friend a hug. Then, looking at Lana with a big warm smile she said "And who might you be, you who are clever enough to spot a Princess?"

"Oh, he, he, this is my niece Lana." said Lina, making the introductions. Lana squirmed to be let down, where she promptly gave Amilia a cute, clumbsy bow. Amilia said "Oh why thank you Lana!" and curtsied back. Lana quivered for a minute, then ran off to tell her mother it was a for real princess. Amilia gave a chuckle and asked Lina "Now who does she remind me of..." "Oh rub it in..." replied Lina, but with a laugh. They made their way over and greeted Zel and Phil as well, and everyone got swept into the inn and settled. Reports were given that the Royal couple from Westhold were due in a few hours so the party from Seirune seemed happy to have timed their trip about right. An impromptu party started, food, drink, the works, and a lot of conversation. Amilia wanted to know all about how Lina was making out with her family and was genuinely delighted to hear her friend seemed to be back in the fold. At one point Lina broke down and cried happily and said "I'm so lucky Amilia, I'm so lucky!" Amilia qave her a little hug and smiled.

They talked and planned and speculated about the sealed boxes from Westhold. "Your wedding gown is sure to be in one of them." said Amilia excitedly. "Yeah." replied a nervous Lina. "What's wrong?" asked Amilia. "Oh, her revenge thing, you heard her, she'll probably make me look like a s-, like a-a-s-s-slug..." Lina got out. "Gracia wouldn't be that unjust." said Amilia reassuringly, but in her eyes were her own private doubts. Gracia could go off the deep end after all. "Well, if it is, I'll fireball her myself." said Amilia. "Let's see her take revenge for that"  
Lina laughed, but begged Amilia to do no such thing. "No, I brought this on my self, and I have to learn to take the consequenses, and take them to heart. That was the problem with Luna and me, I felt the lumps, but never learned the lesson not to be a major irritant. Life would have been so simple between us if I had, oh well"  
Eventually, towards evening, runners came in and the honour guard stirred again. The royal coach was entering the town. A crowd, every bit as hugh as the one that formed for the arrival of Phil and Amilia, surrounded the inn, but made way for the impressive carriage as it drew up. Again with the ranked guards on either side of the red carpet, again with the fan-fare and the impressive greeting. Then King Alfred emerged and with his own hand helped a resplended Queen Gracia down from the step. A great cheer, acknowleged with a humble bow from the King, and they walked down to the door where Luna bowed them into the inn. This time Lana didn't get introduced, but she seemed happy to stay in Lina's arms again, and was a bit quieter. Actually, she had shyly made friends with Amilia during the day, and now felt calmer about things.

At any rate, all formality ended with the entry into the room as Alfred immediately gave Phil a bear hug and shouted a gleefull "DAD!" and Phil hugged him back with a joyful "SON!" and then some laughter and the usual talk about the trip. Gracia immediately laughed her special laugh in greeting of Lina and Amilia, causing them to cringe and even making little Lana sob till her mother took her. It was bedtime anyway. And tommorrow was the wedding! "Oh gosh." thought Lina, "This is it." But for now there was talking and asking about news and how the honeymoon went, and a few ribald jokes and more eating and talking, and drinks flowed, none alcoholic, but that wasn't missed.

During the festivities there was actually a moment when Luna was free, something that had hardly happened during the week, but now her staff were up to full force and she actually was able to relax and take stock. At that time Gourry asked her to come with her father and meet him out back. Luna felt that was a strange request, but humoured it, and in a short time the three were seated around a picnic table in the back court yard. "I wanted to do this earlier." said Gourry, "But it never seemed the right time. Here, please look and even touch to your heart's content, both of you, but just remember it is dangerous." With that he set the Blast Blade on the table. Luna and her dad looked at the plain scabbard and handle. Somehow it was appropriate that the most magical blade after the Sword of Light should have no fancy, pretentious decorations. It didn't need them. Tenderly, perhaps a bit gingerly even, Lina's dad finally reached out and pulled the sword from it's scabbard.

It seemed a perfect blade! A few practice swings and he laughed. "It cut's the very air, litterally! You can feel it!" he said with a smile. "Try this!" said Gourry, picking up a rock. "You know the stick challenge?" "The one to see how many times you can cut a stick before it lands? You bet I do!" Lina's dad replied. "Try it with this." said Gourry, and he tossed the rock into the air. The older man swung. "Three!" said Luna with a triumphant laugh as he cut the stone like it was nothing at all. "Bah!" said her dad. "That's what I get for not warming up." "Well, we must fix that!" she replied and tossed another stone at her father. And so a happy hour passed for the three swordspeople, taking turns with the Blast Blade and talking swords, and life in general. Gourry felt a real bond with his father-, and sister-,in-law. The blade was finally returned to him, gratitude on the faces of his relations. As he reattached the scabbard to his belt he said to Luna "Lady Luna" "No, no!" she interupted. "Just Luna." "Oh, okay," he said, and went on, "Luna, if you ever need to borrow this blade, I will freely lend it to you." Luna looked at him with a tear of gratitude in her eye, and with a small lump in her throat she said "Really? I-I, I am honoured you'd trust me with such a treasure." she smiled. "I accept the offer, but pray it will never be needful for me to take it up." "Well, of course." said Gourry gently, "but if you do find you need it, it is yours to use. And I am honoured too, to be able to even make such an offer to a Knight of Cephied."

A voice from the sidelines interupted. "Are you done with my daddy, Gourry? I'd like him to meet the King and Queen." Lina was standing there, as were the aforebmentioned royal couple, as well as Zel and Amilia and Phil, with Theo. "Oh. Of course! Of course honey!" said Lina's dad with a smile as he came to her side. Formal introductions had, in fact, been made earlier, but in the mix of things the family had sort of ended up with Lina's mother first, and reveled in some good old tales about a young Lina, well, everyone but Lina had reveled maybe... Now they wanted to sit and talk with Lina's dad. As the backyard was pleasant at that time they sat and talked. King Alfred was interested in matters of trade, and let Lina's dad know that after the weddings were over and he was back in Westhold he would send a letter to the older man inviting him to approach his Eternal Queen about setting up a trade delegation to come and negotiate formal trade agreements. And now that the prospect of real peace with the east was looming, trade threatened to get very good indeed.

There was general laughter at that, and Phil rumbled in that he didn't expect the trade road to end in Zephielia either, though it would no doubt pass through her. Then there were more discussions about Lina, and the wedding that was to be held tommorrow. Lina's dad smiled, Luna had brought everyone in on the happening when she got back, and he declared himself ready to do his part. By the end of it everyone seemed genuinely to like each other, and Lina's dad was glad that Lina would serve so nice a monarch. He felt more at ease about his daughter than he had for a very long time, and several worry lines faded from his face that night never to return.  
Finally, as the sun was setting and evening was begining to chill, just as they were making their way back inside, came the announcement that the final set of guests were arriving shortly. Gourry's family was was here at last. No honour guard this time, they had gone back to the palace, to be replaced by a real guard around the inn. Still Luna had left the red carpet out for them, they were to feel honoured too. And they did. They were quickly taken in and were indroduced around, and the talking began all over again, only now it was Gourry's turn to squirm as stories were told about him when young. Also, family history was discussed, and King Alfred suggested that he could provide artisans, so that a copy of the tapestry be made and hung in Gourry's hall, then the story of the sword could continue with the fortunes of the Blast Blade taking over for the sword of light. Gourry's mother made a deal about this as if it would be an imposition upon Westhold, but somehow she never said "No." to the idea, and after a minute of this King Alfred started to laugh. Gourry's mom caught the knowing look in his eye, and started to laugh too. And she was delighted as well, for now she knew Gourry was in the hands of a capable king, as well as a capable wife. Oh yes, barring a major tragedy, such as a devastating war, her little boy was going to be very well cared for indeed. So, with everyone generally getting along well, they all finally retired, tommorrow was going to be a big day.

Lina found it hard to fall asleep, partly it was the excitement of a real wedding, and the fear of how Naga was going to get her revenge. She dreaded the thought of being bleary eyed in the morning, but she dreaded the morning too. Gourry helped. He could sense her worry and held her tight. "Listen," he said, "what ever happens, I am going to be there with you, and for you. We will do it all together, and after it's over, it will be done for the rest of our life. But we will still be there, Lina, together, in love. Never doubt that I love you, Lina." Lina allowed herself to be persuaded, and snuggled in. "Thanks Gourry, just hold me close tonight, I need to feel you protecting me. Gourry smiled, and did just that. Finally Lina drifted off. 


	23. wChapter22

Chapter 22 xxxxxxxxxx

A knocking at the door awoke them. Lina came awake instantly. Breakfast, if she had the stomach for it, and then, and then... well, and then. She hugged Gourry for comfort, then bucked up her courage and got up. The day wouldn't end if it didn't begin. The first person they met was a rather pouty Trina who had been decidedly in the background for the whole week. "I'm sorry I'm upset, Lady Lina." she said. "But I like being your maid and I've been put in the background all the time on this trip. Well, if it was just sightseeing fine, but today you are to get married, at least you are having the ceremony, and I have nothing to do! I want to help!" Lina smiled and put her arm around the girl. "Come with us, you will get a task worthy of you, I promise." she said.

The three of them went down to find breakfast laid out for all and the whole crew was showing up. "Quite the laid back party!" King Alfred was joking to Prince Phil. "Yes!" Phil responded with his usual jolly boom. "Our protocol officers must be spinning on their heads about this." "Do 'em good!" Alfred laughed back. "Oh! The happy couple!" he went on as he spotted Lina, Gourry, and Trina approaching. Party or not Lina and Gourry were very careful to bow or curtsey properly. "Wow!" said Phil. "You've tamed her a bit I see." he said, meaning Lina. "How'd you do it?" "Threatened to keep her alive, if I remember correctly." replied Alfred. He then spoke cheerfully to Lina and Gourry "Welcome to breakfast, you two. Do be sure to try the eggs. That Theodric is a kitchen god if there ever was one. Zephielia is lucky, he could get a job, no, a career at any court in the world, and name his price! Your sister wants a world famous restaurant, Lady Lina, I'd say she's got it! How has your honeymoon been?"

"As for that," replied Lina, "my sister is lucky. and I am so grateful to have her back. And I thank Your Majesty for this trip, so much has finally come together that I finally think I'm ready for the future. The trip has been wonderful. I don't think I can ever repay you for your generosity in letting us go." "Who said you have to repay me?" laughed the King. "You really have to learn that nobility is at its best when is shares it's wealth. Repay me by following my example someday." He gave a sly little look to Trina as he said that. "Lady Trina." he asked gently. "How do you like your new Mistress?" Trina bushed and smiled "I like her very well indeed Your Highness. I thank you for letting me go." "Ha well, how could I not? You like Lady Lina so much it seemed rather the only thing to do. Even your father thinks it's great. And the clacks at court are still tied up in knots about how the daughter of a Duke ends up as Lady-in-waiting to a Knight's lady, but if it works, and is a full friendship, I think it's all the more appropriate. Perhaps Lady Lina will teach you some of her magic too?" he asked, looking at Lina.

"You are a Duke's daughter?" Lina asked, looking pale. "Oh yes." replied Trina plainly. "You didn't realise only nobility can serve at the Hall of Stronghold? I'm sorry, I take things for granted sometimes." Lina said, amazement in her voice "But, marriage or not, I'm a commoner by birth, and upbringing! You really don't mind?" "No Lady Lina, I don't. If fact, in some ways you are a bit of a refreshing change, tee, hee. And don't worry, unlike some kingdoms, privelage isn't everything in Westhold, you still have to show what you are capable of. Going into service like this is a way of showing what I can do, plus it is a form of preparation for my future too. You see, one day I am sure I shall marry, and I will have a household of my own to run. Who does the better job as boss, one who has only observed, or one who has gotten her hands dirty also, and knows how it is?" Lina thought that over for a minute then said "Wow. Okay, if you are happy, but the moment you aren't, you let me know, got it? That's an order, if you like." Trina laughed a pleasant little laugh then replied "Aye Lady, I've got it!" "You want to learn magic do you?" asked Lina. "I do, if I am worthy." Trina replied. "Hmmm," Lina went on. "A wise man once taught me you are what you make yourself, if you want to be worthy it will be up to you to make yourself so, and if you do, you can learn anything you want. But we will talk later, maybe when we are home and things are settled. Deal?" "Deal!" replied the girl with enthusiasm. "Sounds like you have met some wise people in your travels, Lina." said Phil. "I have." replied Lina, looking at King Alfred. The King smiled.

"Lina!" said a familiar voice. Naga swept in and swept up Lina, taking her away to the women's table after joking with Gourry about borrowing her and promising to give her back that afternoon as good as new. Lina was seated with her mother and her sister, and Amilia and Naga as well. Gourry's mother was invited, but gracefully bowed out saying it was her last chance to try and get her son ready for the honour Lina was about to do him. "Oh no, it us who have to try at the his late hour to bring Lina up to readiness for your son!" responded Lina's mother, in apparent seriousness. Lina looked blank at her mother's comment and just collapsed slowly onto the table as the rest of the women laughed, perhaps with more amuzement than Lina would have liked. Gourry's mother then took her leave and joined her son's table.

Lana was there at the womens' table too, but, with a typical child's energy, and the infectious tension of the day, seated wasn't the best word to describe her goings and comings. "Your Highness, the Lady Trina wants to be part of this, and I want her to be too." said Lina quietly, as she pulled out a chair and indicated to Trina to sit. The girl hesitated, looking at the queen. Naga gave her a curious look back then smiled and pointed to the seat and said "Welcome to the inner circle." Trina smiled with relief and sat down.

Breakfast was served up and for a while there was a lot of happy eating going on. Lina packed it away with the best of them, figuring that if she was going to get punished somehow today she was going to face it with a full stomach so she'd have strength to put up with it. From the sounds of laughter coming from the men's table she knew Gourry was being looked after too. Well, she was going to have to face this alone, perhaps that was best. "Okay" she said after a while. "what's the plan? It's supposed to be my day, but I am at the mercy of everyone, and even I know it."

"Well" said Luna in a matter of fact way, "I've been tasked with the practical side so let's review the plans. The augerer says that the hour after noon is the most auspicious, and you know Zephielia, if the queen's own holy man says it is so, it is so." "What!" said Lina a bit shocked. "The queen's own augerer? Since when does the Eternal Queen let him dabble in the affairs of commoners?" "Well, you are not common any more you know." said Luna. "For one thing, though you may have missed it, no one else has, you are the most famous Zephielian ever. Hands down, no argument."

"No!" said Lina, that didn't sound right to her, there were lot's of famous Zephielians. She named a few in protest. "Famous in our boarders, yes, dear, but the world doesn't know them." replied her mother gently. "But, but, oh gods! This is frightening. How do I handle this?" "Same way you always have." replied Naga with her typical smirk. "Take a deep breath, calm down, forget about it, and be what you were ment to be, namely, my eternal apprentice." Lina stopped in mid protest and shot Naga a dirty look, then she was overtaken by a laugh. "Thanks, I needed that, Rival!" she said. Naga saluted her with her oh so delicately held teacup and took a sip, looking ever-so-much like the cat contemplating eating the canary. Lina gulped. She realised too well who the canary was.

"It also didn't hurt that two royal houses, Seiruun and Westhold are going to be here to view this marriage to get the palace to scramble to help." Luna went on, answering Lina's question some more. "Don't worry about it, they won't have anything to do with the ceremony, but at least one member of the high royal house will observe the ceremony today. I imagine it will be the usual closed box sort of thing. And the high priest will send his most worthy bishop to officiate, sorry, had no choice in that one." "Okay." said Lina. Luna went on "So, it will be held out in the open in town center. I've been up on the platform, the whole town is decked out and very pretty, and off in the background all the farms are coming into full ripeness, and all the harvest colours will be out in full force, the white barley, the brown oats, of course the hills are green and dark with the grape harvest. There's even a sunflower field that's just going to lose it's yellow as the seeds ripen. You really are here at the prettiest time."

"Oh now dear, your spring wedding was wonderful too." said her mother. "The green grass, the spring flowers, the fields just starting to show green as the winter oats and wheat freshened." "Well, thanks Mom." said Luna with a smile. "I didn't mean I had the least little objecton with my wedding, but since I got the best time in the spring it's only right Lina gets the best time in the fall, wouldn't be fair otherwise." The mother and the daughter smiled at each other. Lina wasn't sure if she should take what they said as a complement, or feel queezy at the tackiness of it. It occured to her that at no time, either for this ceremony, or the first simple on that joined her to Gourry all those weeks ago now, did anyone ever ask her what she wanted. "Oh well, if you are getting a free wedding you have to take the whole package, I guess..." she philosophised.  
"I'm going to be a flower, right mommy?" interjected Lana. There was a good natured chuckle from the table. "Well, you will get to be the flower girl, yes." replied Luna with a smile. Lina smiled too. "And the prettiest one ever." she said. Lana asked, all innocently "Mommy, why didn't you have me be your flower girl when you married daddy?" Luna's cheeks coloured, of all the things for her daughter to ask, here, at this breakfast table. The other women looked at her with amusement. How was she going to answer this one? "Well, uh, you weren't born yet, dear, so we couldn't." "Why wasn't I born yet?" the child persisted. Luna coloured more deeply. "Well, mommy and daddy had to get married so you could be born, that's why." "Oh." said Lina's niece. She ponderd for a moment in her little way as Luna was trying to figure out how to deal with whatever the next question would be. It wasn't long coming. "What's being born?" Luna looked around, feeling helpless. She had no qualms about teaching her daughter the facts of life, but, not at a breakfast table full of important guests. But any thoughts of taking Lana off were forestalled by Lana as she slid into her next question without even waiting for the answer. "Mommy, what's morning sickness?"

Luna gasped and her blush sread right down to her toes as the whole table turned to look at her. "W-Where did you hear that?" she quavered at her daughter. "This morning, when you were talking to daddy." came the reply. Luna gasped again. "You heard that?" She was silent for a minute. "Well, you're going to have to tell us now, aren't you?" asked her mother knowingly. "I wondered if she was going to say anyting." commented Naga, with a warm, mother to mother smile. "How did you know?" asked Amilia innocently, finally getting in on the conversation. "You'll find out." was all her sister would say to her in reply. "Luna, you, you're not, you are...?" stammered Lina with a happy "surprised by joy" look on her face. Luna, her face buried in her hands started chuckling and said "I wasn't going to keep it a secret long, just till after the wedding, because it's Lina's day, and I really didn't know for sure till this morning when I got that familiar sickness again anyway."

"Oh you!" said Lina scrambling over and hugging her sister. "I can't think of a better present for this day than to hear great news about my sister!" Their mother laughed and joined in the hug, and Lana made sure she wasn't left out either. Luna explained quickly and simply to Lana that she was about to become a big sister, and that they would talk about it later when the party was over. "Two mothers and three daughters, and only four people!" joked Naga with her sister. Amilia smiled, then leaned over and startled her sister by hugging her too. "All the hugs we missed out on, you and I." she said to her. Naga smiled and hugged her back. "Let's make up for lost time." she replied. And so they did. But finally the hugs were over and the late breakfast cleared.

"Well, it grows slowly towards noon." announced Naga finally. We best prepare for the big event, yes?" There was general assent to this, although Lina quietly wished she could just take Gourry and leave. Naga leaned over and said to the men's table "We go to prepare the bride." Her own husband's voice came back "Don't worry, we'll have the sacrifice, er, I mean the groom, ready!" Naga stared at him with a "jolly joker" look on her face, then in an agrieved tone said "I'm going to remember you said that..." "I'm counting on it..." was the reply. "Oh I give up, I can never top that one." she said and got up from the table along with the other women. They then gaggled off to the rooms that were ready for Lina's transformation into a blushing bride. "Well, Lord Gabriev, that's our cue!" said his King. Gourry gulped. "Sacrifice?" he said, quietly. The others laughed. "Hey we all did this, when it was our turn." said Phil, giving him an encouraging thump on the back that made Gourry cough. "Well, not all of us..." said Zelgadiss quietly. "Well take notes man!" was the response. Gourry was lead away and his preparation began too.  
For both of them it started with another bath. Lina didn't mind though, the water was heavenly, and the scents and oils in it, well... "You had this prepared didn't you?" she asked Naga, knowing the Queen's expertise with hot springs and other forms of water therapy. "Yes, with a few small changes, it's one that I use myself. Your skin is going to be as soft as, well, as a baby's!" Naga replied, smiling at Luna. "Let's get the clothes ready!" said Amilia opening the big trunk in the room like it was a present or something. Now that there was something for her to do, Trina got in with her and helped unpack. "Ooo, pretty!" she said, holding out what were clearly meant to be undergarments, but pure white, and of the finest silk. "So soft!" added Luna, who was helping her. Soon enough, several dresses were unpacked. It occured to Lina that a barrage of letters with details for preparations must have been flying between Stronghold and Zefielia since she left on her honeymoon.

The first thing she noticed was that Naga had a different dress from the others. "Aren't you in the wedding party?" she asked. "No, I will be with my King, holding our son. But I'll be right behind you, so don't think I will miss anything!" Naga replied. Lina then noticed the dresses for her mother, Luna, and Amilia. "Oh my! Those dresses are beautiful!" she said, half rising from the tub, only to have Naga gently but firmly put her back down. "You haven't soaked enough yet." she said. There was a little one for Lana who was delighted she was getting one too. There was even one that was meant for Trina. It seemed that Lina's maidservant was not excluded after all. "Well who did you think would hold the train?" asked Naga. Then a special, wrapped big package came out. Obviously this was Lina's. "Just put it on the bed." instructed Naga, We'll get to it later.

"Is that the snail suit?" asked Lina with a gulp. Naga froze then turned to face her, a stunned look on her face. The rest of the room went silent too. "What?" she asked. "Please don't be mad at me." said Lina, hanging her head. "It's just, well, with the fireball, and the look on your face when you said you were throwing me this wedding, I'm aware that there's going to be some element of revenge mixed in to this. All I can think of is that you are going to make me wear something that is decorated with, or looks like, snails or slugs, since you know how terrified of them I am." She gulped again. Naga was silent for a long time, then with a deep sigh, and sounding hurt, she said "Lina, I would NEVER do that to you, not on your wedding." Lina shrunk, feeling very low. "I-I am sorry, your Majesty, I just assumed..." "It's the reception where you'll get it!" Naga snapped back in reply, then broke out in a laugh. Yes... that laugh... and the room cringed... Lina sighed. "I should have known..." she said.

Finally all the goodies were out of the trunk, and the other women clambered in to the big hot tub with Lina for a soak. "Let's see" said Lina, "it was several weeks ago I last soaked with you two." she said to Amilia and Naga. "And not since we were very little girls did we soak together" she said to Luna. "And Mom, I don't think we ever had a soak together did we? Oh, and Lana, welcome to the world of communal hot tubs." She smiled around at everyone, then noticed "Trina, aren't you getting in?" "Oh no Lady Lina, I'm serving, remember?" the servant girl said with a smile. Lina pondered a moment. "And what if I want to be served in the tub?" Lina asked. "I'm sure I can reach from the sides, my lady." Trina answered. "Show me." said Lina.

By now the other memebers of the tub party were looking at Lina, wondering what she had in mind. Well, except for Naga, who always did clue in to Lina faster than most. Giving Lina a raised eyebrow she shifted slightly and prepared. Trina, all unsuspecting, came around and reached out to Lina. Suddenly she was grabbed and skillfully flipped into the tub by Lina, with Naga suddenly shifting other people out of the way as she caught the girl so she landed with a splash but not hard for all that. After a bit, when the sputtering was over Lina made a joke about the whims of nobility which got everyone laughing, even Trina, eventually. "Oh well, then." said the girl as she took off her wet clothes and joined the party after all. "This is irregular Lady Lina." she said. "Yup." Lina agreed. Then since the plan was for a long soak for everyone they got to talking.  
They recounted stories about growing up, and compared notes on how they all handled certain stages of life. There were a lot of good natured if somewhat off colour jokes, often a Lina's expense, but the others got their share. Luna muttered at one point that she was gong to have so much to explain to Lana when this was all over she didn't know where she would begin. However, the immediatly proffered offers to help were hastily turned down which brought on some more merriment. At one point Lana started asking Amilia about Princesses, and Amilia seemed to be in her element. No justice speeches, but she did teach the child the "Victory!" sign. As Lina had suspected, Lana was a natural! Then, in response to a request for a story about the most famoustest of princesses ever Amilia started telling the child an old Seirune tale about a beautiful young girl with long blonde hair, but who was quite a klutz, until one day a magical black cat appeared to her and behold, the cat could talk! She informed the young girl she was secretly a princess, that she had come from the moon, and her destiny lay in the stars, and in the future she would be the Queen of all the earth. This facinated Lana so much she almost didn't let Amilia go. Which was a bit unfortunate, it was a long story, but Amilia finally promised her that she would send Lana a story book with the whole story in it, and which had been her very own copy! Lana made quite a splash, well, several actually, as she danced for joy in the tub.

"Sis, you sure you want to tell her that story?" asked Naga with a puzzled look on her face. Amilia smiled then suddenly did a crash and blushed deeply as she realised "Oh, I forgot about that stuff that's later in the story!" Naga leaned over to Luna and said "It's a good story, but it was meant for teenagers, so be sure you edit a bit okay?" Luna nodded, smiling at Lana as she continued to dance for joy. Suddenly a thought occured to the child and she half swam over to Naga. "The princess in the story became a queen right?" "Yes she did" replied Naga with a smile. "You're a Queen, right?" "Correct again you clever thing you!" replied the Queen. "So you were a Princess before you were a Queen?" the child asked, following her young logic. "Honey, you are right on all three questions!" Naga smiled down on the girl. "I was a Princess, now I am a Queen. Amilia, who is my sister, is a Princess, and one day she will become a queen too. My, you are smart! Your mommy must be proud of you." "You bet!" replied her mother. "Mommy, I'm thirsty." said Lana, suddenly changing the subject.

Luna sighed and got herself and her daughter out of the tub to go get a drink. While they were gone Lina's mom turned to her and said "You know dear this is usually the time when a mother and her daughter have a little talk about what to expect when it's time for bed. Would you like me to give you that little talk?" Lina was shocked, then she caught her mother's slight smirk. "Uh, no thanks mom, I think we figured it out already." she said with a giggle. Amilia however saw her opening and slid in to Lina's mom and threw her arms around the woman and said "Me, I'm getting married in two weeks and I don't have a mother, give me the talk!" "Amilia!" said a shocked Lina. "No way!" replied Amilia. "You still have a mommy and a daddy, I don't have a mommy anymore, I'm going to take what I can get." She actually stuck her tongue out at Lina which made Lina's mother laugh.

"My, my, girls, listen up then." With that she explained things in simple terms with more emphasis on the warmth and the loving feelings that would be there, rather than a clinical analysis of the act itself. Lina actually found it kind of comforting to hear they had been doing everything right, even though she didn't have any real doubts about that in the first place. However she still whispered to Amilia "You're lucky your big sister is my Queen..." Amilia just laughed and said "Yeah, there are some advantages to being royal..." Luna returned at that moment and asked what was going on, and wondered why there was so much laughter from her question. It was explained with a lot of giggling, and Lana of course wanted to know the joke too. "Thanks a lot!" frowned Luna at her sister and the others as her own daughter was asking loaded questions. A motherly "Not Now!" was finally employed to quell the little girl, and with that they decided the soaking had gone on long enough.  
Lina rose to get out and was pulled back down by Amilia as Naga grabbed the shampoo bottle and anounced "Now the washing up proper begins!" "What?" yelled Lina in surprise as the tub crew suddenly decended on her with towels and washclothes. In short order she was very clean indeed from head to foot and her hair was scrubbed out like it hadn't been in ever so long, and Lina certainly knew how to keep it clean! Finally she was taken out of the tub towelled dry and Trina was left to brush the hair of her sputtering mistress as the others hastened to get the clothes ready. Undergarment first, their own went on quick enough, but they took their time with Lina, making a few jokes about having a living doll to dress. "Oh come on!" said Lina, trying to protest. "Yes, that's what I thought when I first held her!" said her mother. "She was a little living doll! Just like her sister. So beautiful! And so she is!"

"Well, when we get done that is." laughed Naga. Lina growlled at that one. "Well, don't you think we will make you a beautiful bride?" asked Naga with mock seriousness. Lina sighed in resignation. She remembered about how it was explained to her about getting her goat and realised the day was entirely out of her hands from here on in anyway. In time she was dressed in the undergarments ment for her, the lightest touches of makeup were applied, she really didn't need much, maybe just a bit of white powder about the moles on her forehead. "Oh, the fly catchers!" said Amilia cheerily.

"THE WHAT?" shrieked Lina as Amilia blushed deeply. "Oh, I'm sorry Lina, I really am." Lina frowned and ground her teeth. "What have you been telling people about me?" she demanded. "Oh please, Lina I didn't mean the say that I meant to think it." "What's that got to do with it?" Lina demanded getting that dangerous pre fireball tone to her voice. "Er, let me explain." said a now nervous Amilia. "You remember way, way back when Xellos had us looking for the Clair bible? How in the middle of everything Martina of Zoana stole your headband to make her curse?" Lina looked at Amilia with a "this better be good" look on her face. amilia went on, still nervously "Well, I blame it on the stresss, but at one point in the trip, oh it was when we were in that tent in the Clair Bible field, I had a nightmare. I dreamed a hellishly big fly, about the size of a fist was buzzing around and suddenly two tentacles shot up from you forehead and caught it, then you turned to me with a wicked grin and said something like "Oh Amilia..." That's when I woke up with a start, I was actually frightend, can you imagine. Of course you were just asleep next to me. I think I might have awakened you, you left shortly after that. Isn't that funny? The dream I mean. I mean, er, well, I never said anything to anyone, honest Lina, but when I saw them now I just remembered the dream and I didn't mean to but I blurted out about the fly catchers, and I'm sorry and I'll never do it again, and please don't fireball me, you'll spoil the dress, and..." "Oh, just shut up Amilia..." said Lina with a resigned sigh.

Naga began nastily recounting "Let's see, short statured, flat chested, dragon spooking, bandit killing, fly catching..." "Please stop!" said Lina digging her fists into her eyes and threateneing to ruin the make up. Naga did, but with a laugh, and the dressing carried on. The gowns for Lina's mom and sister, and for Amilia, were all matching, and were a creamy white silk that was so fine it shone. They were cut just slightly different for each woman and each accentuated the beauty of the woman who wore it perfectly. Naga's was a Silver gown with black highlights and with her mane of incredible black hair it was perfect. Trina helped make a few last minute touch ups everywhere, then her own gown was put on her, and the pale dress made her take on an elven quality. "Wow!" she said looking in the mirror.

Now it was time. The great package was unwrapped, and Lina's dress was brought out for inspection. Lina gulped when she saw it, never in her wildest fantasies had she ever dreamed of a dress like this. Someone had worked their fingers to the bone for this, that was for sure. Delicate embroidery everywhere, floral patterns and geometric designs. No snails... The cut was perfect the gown hugged her form just so. In combination with the undergarments the whole thing had an almost angelic look to it. Lina stared and stared at herself wide eyed, even she couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. She finally looked to Naga and could hardly whisper "Thank you..." "Here's the rest!" said Naga opening a little box and bringing out the jewelry.  
There were necklaces and rings all around, and of course everyone was dressed before Lina. "Now let's see," said Naga as she reached in the box. "We need something, how does that go? Something new, something old, something blue, and something borrowed? Did I get it right?" "Well, I think it's supposed to rhyme when you say it, but yes it's right otherwise." replied Luna. "Well. Let's see then, the dress, that's new. What's old?" They thought for a second then Trina said "I know!" and dashed off. "Huh?" said Naga. "Oh well. Borrowed?" " Thought of that!" said Luna, taking out a pair of elegant hair combs. "I wore these on my own wedding day." "Ohh, the're pretty!" coo'd Amilia and Naga together. Quickly they were mounted into Lina's hair as they prepared to put the veil on her. Trina returned just then and asked "Is this old enough?" She held the little cameo locket that had been Melirune's. Lina gasped and smiled. "Perfect!" she said and opened it. She gave Melirune a little kiss and put the locket on. Being made by the elves it's simple design somehow fit with everything else she wore. Of course she was then prevailed upon to explain the meaning of it all, and in simple terms she did.

All eyes were moist by the time she was done, it was such a beautifully bittersweet story. "Lina, you must be blessed by the Lord of Nighmares herself." said Naga with admiration. "May I be worthy of such a gift if I am." said Lina with a rare show of extreme humility. "Well, that leaves blue." said Naga after a minute, breaking the silence. "Here." She pulled out a delicate filagree tiara set with small, delicate looking dark blue-violet stones. "What are they?" asked Lina admiringly. "Sapphires." said Naga. "Wrong blue." said Lina, puzzled. "No they are sapphires, they do come in this colour, but they are extremely rare. You want a money value? With those stones, and the fact that the metal isn't silver, but a rare hard to make metal called platinum, that tiara is worth more than the value of the room you were staying in at Stronghold." Lina gulped. "Ah the one with enough gold in it to buy the town of Zephielia?" she asked. "This will buy everything else." said Naga matter of factly. "I'm wearing the price of my homeland on my head?" "Yup!" said Naga with a smile. "I will take care of it, that's for sure." said Lina, a little short of breath.

"Oh, here, before I forget" added Naga fishing one last thing from the box. It turned out to be a ring in the more traditional blue of a sapphire. "Gourry's colour, I believe." Naga said. "Yes, that's the one I specified." said Amilia, revealing she had a hand in this too. "Good, there is a part in the ceremony when you exchange rings, this is for you to give to him. Naturally, he has a matching ring in ruby for you." Amilia laughed "It's too bad they can't both wear rubies" she said, "but the colours are better for each of them this way." Lina chuckled, then Naga told the group something interesting. "Well, actually, you know we have these people that call themselves scientist and who are always poking into how things work or how they are made, that sort of thing?" Lina and Amilia nodded yes. "Without a word of a lie, they have proven that, except for the colouring agents, rubies and sapphires are exactly the same stone!" Lina looked a bit shocked then suddenly she started laughing. "Well, the same, and different at the same time, if that isn't any married couple, I don't know what is!" she laughed.  
"Well, let's see, are we all ready? I hear by the bells we are aproaching the first hour after noon." said Lina's mom. "A quarter hour to go my precious! Oh, I shall weep! I have my daughter back just in time to give her up again." Lina hugged her mom and said, a sob in her voice, "Mom, we will keep in touch, and I'll have money, I'll send for you and dad and Luna and Lana and Theo as often as you want! Please, I know I have to go away, but let's not make it like last time." "Heavens above of course we'll keep in touch. I'm not missing out on my grandchildren you know. And don't worry about the money! We are filthy rich ourselves. Give us a bit of time and with our connections we can raise the money in gold, silver, or any commodity you like to buy that pretty tiara Her Majesty has lent you to wear." "Leant nothing!" said Naga. "Huh?" asked Lina. "The rules of that old good luck saying are simple." went on Naga. "You have to give back what was borrowed, your sister's combs. Everything else is yours. I had it made especially. And I'll be highly insulted if you give it back!"

Lina just about fainted. If Naga was trying to soften her up for later she was doing an excellent job. "Too much, too much, too much!" said Lina as her head spun, patially from the shock of realising she had a limit to how much wealth she would accept from someone. "You're going to be a lady of the realm? You beter start having some of the tools of the trade." Naga went on "You certainly can wear that tiara again to state functions and the like. Or if you know of some worthy person or cause that can use the money, give it away."

Naga became introspective for a minute, then went on "I tell you Lina, it's amazing, I used to think I was happy hoarding gold, you should remember that! Now I have so much more joy in my life by giving it away. And we have lots, so it is not like I'm starving the commoners to give you a fancy gift or something. But my true happiness now lies in my husband's arms when he holds me, and in my arms when I hold my baby. Oh Lina. May you, and Amilia, and your sister here, and Lady Trina, and even your little princess of a niece, all have as much joy in your marriages as I have in mine. Trust me Lina, in many ways, I am still the woman you befriended, against your will perhaps, but in some ways I am different. And one thing I have learned is that money isn't important, it's what you do with it. I admit this a bit extravagant, but I have as much say in how the kingdom's budget is spent, and I, as well as Prince Erik and His Majesty, make sure the poor are cared for, the widows and orphans are given what comfort the state can give, and the hospitals are the best they can be. And, if you haven't figured it out yet Lina, you are the best freind I've ever had, and I love you. So, lets not worry about money I can afford if I spend some on you."

Lina was speechless at the end of this, a very rare state for her to be in. All she could do was hug Naga and not let her go for a long time. Then her mother, then her sister, Amilia, Trina, and even Lana. Finally the bells struck the hour and it was time to go. Lina was so surrounded by the love of family and friends she practically floated. Of course, with that much happiness to empower them the clothes made her just plain glow, she really was as radiant, and as close in beauty as any human could come to an angel. The little crew assembled by the door.

The door opened and there was a sacred piper and an incense bearer to purify the way ready to led them to the place where they would have the ceremony. Lina's dad also stood by, ready to escort her. Naga took her leave of them there, after all she wasn't in the party. Shrine maidens appeared and gave the party bouquets of flowers, all suitable blessed of course. If these things really could bring good luck, Lina was loaded up with as much luck as any human could bear. As was Lana. No matter, she was ready. A signal was given, somehow, and the piper let his pipes skirl as he lead the party forth. The incense bearer was next, leaving a sweet odour of purity and holiness for the bride to walk through. A red carpet had been laid from the door to the stand and Lina walked along this with her little party, her arm linked in her father's arm. She was not nervous, which was strange, she had thought she would be, but Naga and her family had calmed her marvelously.

They approached the podium and could see Gourry, with his brother, his father, and Zelgadiss approaching from the opposite direction, with their own piper and incense. Such was the skill of the pipers that they were playing the same tune on the same note as they arrived. They then began a slow circle of the raised platform to chase away the devils as Lina and Gourry, at the same time, stepped up onto the platform. Lina looked up at Gourry. He had been armoured for the occasion, brightly burnished ceremonial armour. But not hugh plates, just a breastplate over top of some very handsome clothes. And a long cape hanging down that gave him an air of command. He carried a helmet, but being in a holy place, he carried no weapons. Lina looked up into his eyes and felt her knees go weak, oh yes, this was the one!

They knelt together, side by side on the cushioned floor of the platform. Now a new set of pipers started and the grand Bishop himself approached. He made the four bows, to the north to salute Heaven, to the south to salute the Earth, to the east to salute the Moon, and finally to the west to salute the Sun. He then took a bowl of insence he had been carrying and presented gifts of smoke to the four corners, the northeast, southeast, southwest, and finally northwest, asking the four winds to bless the couple. That done he stood before the couple and began to chant the prayers. After that came the oath taking proper. As always it started out with a solemn call for any impediment to why they should not marry.  
It was here that Gourry, who had been growing increasingly nervous suddenly jumped up and said "WAIT!" A shocked ripple went through the crowd, and a shockwave, with as much force as that of a giga slave, ripped through Lina's heart. Lina was stunned beyond words. What was wrong? She had been so happy, how could Gourry not have been? Didn't he want her anymore? Now what? The Bishop urged Gourry to speak. Gourry turned, rather ashen faced to Lina and fell on his knees before her. "L-Lina!" he stammered to begin. Lina was trying not to scream in fear as she waited for Gourry to speak. "Lina," he started again. "Do you remember what happened to you on the night we got married?" Lina had to build up the courage to answer. "You made me the happiest woman on earth, Gourry..." she said. "N-no I mean before, after you, um, made the King mad." Lina still didn't know what was going on, but even in her terror realised there would be no resolution if she didn't help things along. "You stopped me?" she said, then went on "You stopped me, the King got mad and rightly so, then he showed me undeserved mercy and made me your slave and..."

"Yes and that's it Lina. I should have done this earlier, but I am afraid Lina, but I can't put it off any longer." He hesitated. "Put what off Gourry?" she asked in a small still voice. "Gourry, you can tell me." Gourry built up his courage, it was distressing to see this normally brave man trembling, but he had to do this in his own time. "Lina," he finally said. "as is my right, I set you free." Lina could have just laughed. This was it? Gourry then went on. "The King explained it to me. In Westhold the law is that if you are a slave when you enter into any arrangement, including marriage, it is only binding while you are a slave. I say you are free, and so you are Lina, you are free now, but our marriage is over now, because you were a slave." Lina felt fear crushing in on her again, was Gourry using this as an excuse to dump her? But no, he seemed, well, afraid of her? "Lina, you are free now and if you want to you can get up and walk away from me, and from us, right now, but Lina, I can't be married to you as a slave! You have to be free, you were meant to be free, and I want it to be that way. L-Lina, you are free now, for real, will you marry me?" he finally asked.

It hit Lina like the proverbial ton of bricks. Gourry was afraid she would say no to him! She was stunned speechless for a minute then launched herself forward into his arms. "Gourry!" she exclaimed. "This is going to be the sweetest thing I have ever fireballed you for!" She started laughing with joy and relief, then suddenly remembered what happened last time she laughed and made him wait for an answer. "Yes!" she shouted. "Yes, yes yes, a thousand times yes, and if that's not enough then a thousand time a thousand!" She hugged him some more, then kissed him through her veil, and a relieved laugh swelling to a cheer went through the crowd. When it died down the King remarked to his Queen, "Well, I didn't see that one coming!" Naga replied, a tear in her eye, "Now it is a real wedding!" Luna was giggling too much to stand straight, as was her mother, and Lana wanted to know what was happening, what was so funny.

Lina finally broke off and looked Gourry in the eye. "Of course, there's one condition attached to all this, you realise!" she said to him. "Wh-what condition?" he asked. "I'm not forgetting what's happened between us these past several weeks you know. I demand TWO anniversaries a year! With hearts and flowers and presents and everything!" Gourry laughed now, a happy tension free laugh. "Done!" he cried merrily. With one more hug they finally turned back to the bishop who had waited patiently, and who had had a good laugh like everyone else. After that there was the usual recital of vows to love honour, obey (Lina found that one a bit problematic, although Gourry seemed to have no trouble with it), and stick with each other, no matter what, until death alone parted them. The rings were exchanged without a hitch and Lina was happy indeed with hers, and had to agree the blue suited Gourry better. There was a final blessing, and then the moment when the veil came up and their first public kiss. "Oh Gourry, tonight won't come soon enough..." she whispered in his ear. "I know, I know..." he whispered back, then added "Courage, love, the day won't last forever."

A final hug and they were taken in procession off the platform and after a traditional circle (sunwise of course) of the crowd so all could see them as the bishop solemnly declared them married, and a stop at the closed carriage of the court official of the Eternal Queen of Zephielia, before whom they bowed on their hands and knees as was proper, they were taken into the hall to let the festivities begin.

Here, Luna had out done herself. This part of her inn had been shut off from the guests for the weeks before the wedding, even Lina hadn't seen it till now. It had been scrubbed top to bottom, not that that was unusual for any place Luna owned, and the tables had been arranged so that all could see the head table, where a sort of a raised floor allowed Lina and Gourry to be seen by all as they were sat down upon two very fancy chairs. Behind them a festive red cloth was suspended which set them off perfectly. In the best old tradition the long table running down at the right angle to the head table's right hand side was made the domain of the royals. So Phil, and Alfred, with Amilia, Gracia, Arthur, and Zelgadiss were all seated at an elegant table that was set off with a richly decorated purple cloth, as befited royalty. Lina's mom and dad were on her left, Gourry's mom and dad on his right at the head table. Many other guest from both families, and invitied dignitaries and well wishers from the town were seated at the other tables. A big crowd, Lina would have liked a smaller group, but it really wasn't her choice and so she put up with it.

Of course, as at any wedding celebration, the first thing to do is eat and they certainly did. Luna and her cooks, Theo especially, had turned out all sorts of dishes, old favourites, and exotic new ones, and everyone set to as the waiters and watresses were kept busy shuttling around serving. You'd have thought that watching a wedding was hungry work. Significantly, no alcohol was served. Lina had insisted, indeed put her foot down, on this for Naga's sake, even though the Queen hadn't asked for this herself. Still, she had heard how it was going to be, and who had ordered it, and she was grateful to Lina. She knew what was at stake, but also that she would never be beyond all temtation for life. So, with sparking clear water, and lots of non alcoholic fruit and berry drinks, the guests were served. The barmen had been given the task of making tasty non alcoholic drinks, and most had found the exercise a delightful challenge, though they did take the time to make the usual "Can't be done!" noises, just for the sake of form. Indeed, no one missed the alcohol once they got over it not being there.

Unusually, Lina wasn't that hungry. It might have been her big breakfast, it might have been the nerves of the wedding, or Gourry setting her free, or fear of what was to come later, or all of the above, but she wasn't that hungry. Even Gourry noticed that. Still, she didn't refuse to eat, the thing was more like she just sampled. And she had to agree that all of it was delicious. Well, she was definitely having a feast on the left overs later! During the meal everyone talked. Gourry's and Lina's parents seemed to delight in telling each other amusing stories about their children. The fact that Gourry and Lina were sitting between them didn't seem to bother them in the least. It was as if they delighted in it even, the sadists. At least the in-laws seemed to be getting along.

And the various other guests too. The Zefielian dignitaries were all over themselves and each other to pay honour to the various royal guests, and Lina could tell from their looks that the royals were at least mildly amused by it. She would have liked to hear how Naga was handling some of the obvious pandering, she could deliver the most sacastically devastating comments as if the were the butteriest of complements when she wanted to. And Amilia, gods forbid, no justice speeches, on the other hand, perhaps it would serve them right. Oh well, it wasn't like she could do anything about it. And so, finally, came the end of the meal, and the moment Lina had dreaded.

The plates were cleared, and it was obvious something special was to be centered on the bride. King Alfred stood up and made a grand toast to the newly weds, and welcomed Lina back into the Westhold royal circle, with a joking reference to having blown her chance to get away after Gourry set her free. Lina cringed politely and then grabbed Gourry's arm and said something about taking the good with the bad. Naga muttered just loud enough to be heared by everyone that that was an unfortunate thing to say about her new husband, thus standing Lina's comeback on it's head. In the good old days Lina might have brought up an unanswereable argument, such as a fireball, but here she had to giggle with the best of them and just think hot thoughts.

The other memebers of the Royal table stood up and the customary toasts were drunk, each to a different glass of flavoured water. For in Zefielia, as everywhere else, toasts must be drunk in water or in wine. Then, after the toasts were done, Queen Gracia stood up and announced that they were going to play a game with the bride. The rules were simple. Ask the bride any question you wanted to, she had to either answer truthfully or, take the dare that would end the game! The trick was to get her to take the dare. Thus there were very few questions that could not be asked. Lina cringed, this was it. But, what was the dare? The answer was not long coming as Theo approaced from the kitchen bearing a covered silver dish. Luna was with him and laid a white cloth down for Theo to set the special dish on. As she leaned forward Luna whispered to Lina "Trust us..." Then Theo, with a flourish set the dish down and announced "Your Majesties, Lady and Sir Gabriev, Ladies and Gentlemen..." here he took the cover off and announced "The Escargot!"

Lina jumped back. A snail! Cooked of course, but still..." The cover went back down and it was obvious what was going on. Answer the questions, or eat the snail. Lina reeled and clung to Gourry. Naga then twisted the knife as she started the game. "Lina! The game doesn't end until you eat the snail, and you have to stay there and answer the questions till you do, no breaks for any reason, at all!" Lina shot a hopeless look over to Naga, ohh, the Queen had thought of everything. If the questions didn't get to her all those watery toasts were going to want to come out sooner or later, how much could her bladder hold?

"Oh ye Gods and little Mazoku! Give me strength!" said Lina with a wail. There was no way out of this, Naga would have her revenge, Lina was going to eat a snail. It just depended on how long it took her to build up her courage. Gourry actually tried to help as he opened the questioning without anyones leave. "Lina, isn't it true that a husband and wife are considered one person?" "Yes, so it's always been said." Lina replied wondering what he was getting at. "Well, then hand me the tray and whether anyone likes it or not, in a sense you will have eaten the snail." Lina's jaw dropped! Gourry thought of something really smart, all by himself! Naga's jaw also dropped. "Didn't think of that one did we?" asked her husband. The Queen slapped her forehead into her palm. "No, and it's fair..." Lina tenderly gave Gourry a hug, a long hard squeeze full of love and promises for later. Then she said "Gourry, I brought this mess on my own head, I have to do this myself. But you have just proven yet again that I have made the right choice. I Love You!" Gourry hugged Lina back and asked "Are you sure?" Lina nodded and kissed him as the crowd applauded. Gourry sat down and Lina faced the room and said "I'm ready."

Naga lead off, of course. "So Lina!" she smirked "Who is the greatest sorceress!" Lina realised she couldn't say herself and was darned for sure not going to say Naga, but who to name? She thought fast then said, with a gulp "Josephine? You remember, Jeffery's mother?" Naga was bested there. "Okay..." she said and sat down with a gulp too, cringing as if the mace wielding lunatic herself would show up and demand more training for her son. Her head had been so sore after that incident...

Zelgadiss seemed to have drawn the next slot "Lina, you always like to refere to Gourry as a yoghurt brain." Lina cringed, her mother in law was giving her a "significant" look. "Yes?" asked Lina realising that was not the actuall question. "What flavour is it?" Zel finished. "Oh easy." replied Lina "Strawberry, the food of love, of course!" There was applause for that one. Amilia wanted to know if Lina had really tried to teach her the Dragon Slave all those years ago, when she had asked. Lina blushed, but under the rules of the game had to admit that she had been trying to put the Princess off. Amilia snuck in a "Why?" which let her get two questions in, but it seemed to be allowed, so Lina explained about being afraid Amilia would use it to level the first petty crook she saw, and whatever town or village surrounded the scene of the crime. Amilia seemed put out by that and started into a justice speech about how Lina should give people the benefit of the doubt, but fortunately her own father stopped her up short by agreeing with Lina, to Amilia's dismay. Phil promised to talk about it later, and Amilia was grudgingly content to let it ride, and let the wedding feast go on. And so the first round the room went.

A lot of the locals, and many of Gourry's relations, wanted stories of their adventures. Lina's problem was trying to tell them diplomatically with her friends there to correct her and fill in the blanks. Especially the ones that were personally embarassing to her. Lina looked over the row of Gourry's cousins again, many of them were girls. She suspected not a few of them wanted to know with certainty that all chances of getting Gourry back were forever gone, well, she'd show them that they were right!

Still, the afternoon went on with a lot of pointed questions, and some simply silly moments, like the time she was basically dragged out to the floor by Amilia to do a performance of the song she had mistaken for a protection spell, the one called "A Maiden's Prayer". They performed it for Zel, who was equally embarassed, Amilia was obviously day dreaming about her own wedding a scant two weeks away now. Still, the girls did a credible performance and even got the party ball to appear and pop out the ribbons and ballons like it was supposed to. "Hey!" said a surprised Lina. "I thought we had to wear those goofy costumes for that to happen?" "Beats me..." said Amilia as she watched the confetti rain down with a puzzled look.

Of course this lead to a painful interlude for Lina as people wanted an explanation, then to know what other songs she knew and she had to go through her scant repertoire of folk songs. And one special love song. She almost ate the snail over that one but Gourry actually begged her, telling everyone that this was the song that called him back from the darkness, and the angel who sang it was Lina herself. Of course, this need an explanation, and Lina had to give it, then she sang "Somewhere In the World" again, which surprised her sister to no end as it had been a favourite of hers. She was even more shocked when she made the mistake of asking Lina where she had learned it. Lina, who had by this time remembered where she first heard it, had only withered under that question, but Luna remembered. "Oh! Uh, he, he, no, I get it, I get it..." she said, letting Lina off the hook for that answer. Boy, the things young girls did when they were in the shower, and thought they were alone...

One of the questions that had a surprising result was when someone asked Lina if she had ever had any pets. She replied she never did personally, but Luna had kept a few over the years, all named "Spot" as she remembered. Some local asked if she had met the most recent "Spot". Lina had to say "No." "Well, he was away for the week helping mom and dad get some business delivered so they could be off with you." Luna explained. "What kind of pet does that?" asked Lina, remembering the dogs and cats and birds Luna had kept over the years, and her tales of how she'd had a goat and a pony of the same name on the farm, too. And all were called Spot. "Ho, well this Spot is different. He showed up starving in the village one day and everyone was frightened of him, mostly because he was a half werewolf, half troll." Lina was startled and looked to Zel. "Hey, he sounds like he could be related to your old servant Dilgear!" she said.

Luna gasped. "Huh?" asked Lina. "No!" said Luna, starting to laugh. "He said that was his name, before I tamed him and made him accept Spot as his new name!" "What?" asked a startled Zel coming around the table. Lana by this time was wanting to know what was going on, so Luna asked her to do mommy a favour and go fetch Spot, who should be out back helping in the kitchen. The little girl was off like a red streak, and in very short order was back riding the broad shoulders of... "YOU!" said Dilgear and Zel at the same time. They stared at each other, open mouthed, as a whole series of memories, good and bad went through them, but eventually the good won out and they started to laugh, then they embraced in a big crushing hug, which Zel barely won, and then they were remembering things like old friends. Dilgear even joked with Lina about the time she had been a guest of "Lord Zel's" and Lina coloured and said "Don't mention it, I'm warning you..." So Dilgear made his next comment to Zel, asking why Lina married a man when she seemed to so get into Noonsa's kiss. Lina boiled at that one, but Zel laughed. "Well, let's not go there." he finally said. "I see the throb on her forehead that means a Dragon Slave is brewing..." Lina was startled out of her anger with that, wondering if he was thinking of Amilia's story about her moles. Then Lina realised there had been a pulse in her forehead and willed herself to calm down. Oh, to relieve her tension with a good fireball...

About this time Lina realised she was soon going to need to relieve something else, and the moment she had been dreading was upon her. Eat the snail... As Luna let Dilgear have free time with Zel, Lina went back to the table and sat down in defeat. So far, no one had asked something she couldn't answer, though she had been mightily embarassed by some questions. But the moment was coming. She began trying to screw up her courage. Then someone from the back called out "Hey Lina, we know you've been sensitive about your body, don't you think it's time you satisfied our curiosity and told us your measurements?" Lina was grateful to hear an immediate crunch as someone decided that question crossed the line and decked the pervert. However, though there were a few "Tsk,tsks" in the crowd no one said the question was unfair. Lina had had enough. She knew that was one question she wouldn't answer, and she could tell from the way Naga was smirking that she felt herself well revenged by the questions she had had to go through. Lina gave in.

"I admit defeat with that question." she said in a quavery voice as she trembled like a leaf. With an unsteady hand she removed the cover. The snail awaited. She closed her eyes and gave a little scream, then bit her fist, trying to screw her courage up. Finally, panting for breath in near panic, she picked the thing up, said to Naga "I pray that this will satisfy Your Majesty." and then looking at Luna who was standing on the floor in front of her, she remembered her whispered sords "Trust us..." "I do..." she thought to herself. She gulped, and prepared for the worst, and, in one of the bravest acts in her life, as her ears sang and her eyes started to darken, she popped the..., thing..., into her mouth and bit. Time stopped for her. And for the room, which waited for her response with baited breath. Gourry was holding her by now, ready to catch her if she fainted. Lina stood there for a long time. Then slowly opened her eyes. She took another bite, and opened them some more. Soon she finished chewing, and her eyes were wide open in surprise. She looked at Luna. And spoke.

"It's... chocolate... !"

With that, the room exploded into laughter and cheers. Naga, of course, stole that part of the show with, yes, that laugh... Lina was so relieved she burst into tears and hugged Gourry as he kissed the top of her head over and over. Luna got hugged by her mom and her dad, and Theo came out and got hugged too, it had been his creation after all, and he had done a good job, excellent actually, considering that he had only had his first experience with the stuff when Luna brought some back from Westhold after the war. Finally a smiling and tearful Lina turned around and hugged her sister too. "I love you Luna, thank you from the bottom of my heart..." she whispered. Luna sniffed and laughed and then it was announced it was time for chocolate all around! People dug in, Lina grabbed some and took off to do what had to be done and came back looking pleased with herself. Now it was time for the dancing!

Lina wasn't too enthused about this either, it was an old Zefelian custom left over from even older fertility rituals that the first dance was a lively one performed by the bride and groom alone on the dance floor. Not so bad, but the bride was supposed to "shake her stuff" as the saying went, to ensure fertility, and to rub it in the faces of the batchelors to look at what they were missing! Lina of course, was famous for her petite build, and really didn't have any "stuff" to shake. Well, not like her sister or Naga did. Well, it was another trial, make the realives happy and get out of there and go be with Gourry for life. "Come on Lina, you can do this..." she encouraged herself.

The band, which had been playing in the background all this time, was brought forward and introduced. Lina was impressed, they were a very famous group from Seirune! The dance was announced and Gourry and Lina took their places. Lina waited for the start when the band leader stepped forward to make an announcement. "Sir and Lady Gabriev, Your Majesties, ladies and gentlemen all! This evening marks a very joyous occasion as Zephielia's most famous daughter marries her true love and we wish them all joy and every blessing!" There was applause and calls of "Long life and Happiness!" Blessed Be!" and the occasional "Live long and Prosper!" were showered upon the couple as a blessing.

The band leader went on "We have a special song for this couple to dance to, and it has a bit of a story. When we were in Seirune a little over a week ago the groom approached us with a poem he was trying to compose for his lady love." Lina turned wide eyes to Gourry. A poem? Really? The bandmaster went on. "The groom was seeking help with the words for he was having a time to try and get them to rhyme. We agreed gladly to help, as we could see from his rough draft, and oh rough indeed, what he wanted to say. The problem was, from his point of view, he couldn't make it flow in lyrics. Well, we took it and promised to give him a song worthy of his sentiment, which really is wonderful."

"Now, here's the rub. Imagine our surprise when we tried to work on it, and instead of finding a rhyme for the lyrics, we found a tune instead. Sir Gourry, your lyrics are rather rough if just read, but, to our amazement, when set to music they become wonderful. So, we have left them just as you gave them to us and set them to music. All who have heard this, a select few who were helping in the composition, I assure you, think the song is perfect as is. So here it is, the world premiere of "Fair Wind" by Sir Gourry Gabriev, and dedicated in all love to his wife, the Lady Lina Gabriev!"

Gourry was sweating with embarassment. "Oh no, even I know I can't do poetry..." he whispered to Lina. "Don't worry, Gourry, you wrote it to me? That's so sweet it's wonderful. It doesn't matter what it is, not to me, because it's yours and I know it will say "I Love You Lina" throughout all of it!" She smiled and took his hand ready to dance. The musicians struck up a lively, up beat, hard driving tune. Lina laughed, she wasn't going to have to try to "shake" anything, dancing to that music would make it happen on its own. As they began to step lively on the floor the singers burst into the song.

"My baby you don't know how much I love you behind of you.  
Cause always look the front to get your dream in future.

My baby you don't know whether you meet with an accident.  
It's lonely like a bird but it's a really free like bird.

I know I just a fair wind, it's OK You can go to everywhere.  
I believe my love and believe your love go across ocean and blue sky.

Baby don't be afraid! If you try to fly away with a tiny shiny wing,  
I'll be follow you everyday and everynight.  
Baby don't be afraid! If you stay by breaking heart through the lonely shady night I'll be hug your pain, whenever and forever!

My baby keep in mind how much I love you beside of you. This way is hard like hill but it's a really sweet like kiss.

I know I just a fair wind, it's OK You can go to everywhere I believe my soul and believe your soul Go catch exciting chance and dream.  
Baby don't be afraid! If you try to fly away with a tiny shiny wing,  
I'll be follow you everyday and everynight.  
Baby don't be afraid! If you stay by breaking heart through the lonely shady night I'll be hug your pain, whenever and forever!"

The song was of course dogrel verse, but Lina knew Gourry well enough to see beyond what he had written and knew what he ment. There was no doubt about how much he loved her, and she thought her heart would burst with joy. As the song ended she threw herself into his arms and cried out "Gourry! You are my fair wind! Now and always! Thank you!" And with that she gave him a totally impassioned kiss, not even really remembering, let alone carring, who was watching. If she hadn't managed to make anyone regret they weren't marrying her with her shaking on the dance floor the power of that kiss sure went home to a lot of people. And other couples also kissed and agreed that the sentiment was one they shared too. Queen Gracia teased her husband "How come you never write me poems like that?" "Alas my love!" ws her husband's mournful reply. "I have no tongue for such free verse dogrel. You will have to make due with my attempts at sonnets and what baubles I can pass your way, my kingdom for example..." "You're terrible!" she said, knowing he was teasing her and meant it at the same time. She then leaned over and gave him a kiss too. No way was Lina going to out do her! Well, that was the official excuse at any rate.

In another part of the hall, Zel had put his hands on Amilia's shoulders as they had watched the dance. When it was over they looked at each other, and without a word, kissed. Phil was aware, but just chuckled. Two more weeks and they'd be up to a lot more, and he remembered his own turn at such happiness, and smiled, still very much in love with his wife now sundered from him these many years. "You'd be so proud of them!" he whispered to her memory, and somehow, it was as if she heard.  
After the kissing and other mushy stuff the whole wedding party turned out onto the dance floor and everyone had a turn dancing with the bride or groom. Of course Naga danced with both, because she could, and even Zel and Gourry took a turn together around the floor, mostly to cock a snook at certain rumours that had been circulating about them for many years. "There, that'll show 'em, and keep them talking forever now!" laughed Zelgadiss as he and Gourry bowed to each other at the end. Lina slid in and took Gourry back. She asked him "You sure you wouldn't rather do this with Volun now, eh La La?"

"Wife or not, sister Li Li's gonna get a biff up the hooter..." Gourry threatened, mockingly. Like Lina would ever be afraid of him. He might as well have threatened to send her straight to the moon. She just laughed and asked with what army, and Gourry had to admit defeat there. By now the evening had finally come, and with the setting sun casting a healthy glow of "beauty light" over the whole scene the crowd went outside for a final toast to the bride and groom, and of course, the all important tossing of the bouquet. By tradition, any unmarried maid in the village, not just one in the wedding party, was invited to take part and several local girls were standing in the crowd, waiting the toss. After a final blessing of the couple from the crowd and a toast by those who remembered their glasses, Lina was hoisted onto Gourry's shoulder. He turned them away from the crowd and Lina, after adding a touch of a levitation spell to make it fly farther, tossed the flowers into the air. They were caught by a tall girl with somewhat spiky green hair, who gave a triumphant laugh and held them up from a slightly shorter raven tressed girl who protested they were hers! An older woman with somewhat spiky red hair, probably the green haired girl's mom broke up the fight by reminding them they were in public.

Lina didn't worry about the outcome, she went back in with Gourry. She went first to Naga and curtsied to her Queen and asked, "Please, is it over?" Naga looked triumpant, then chuckled and said "Yes, I'm tired too, it's all over, and welcome back to the fold Lina!" The friends hugged, and Lina went to find her parents and Gourry's parents. They were expected and afer a few private words of congratulations Luna led them out and up a back stairway to a luxurious room that had been made over just for them. "The party will go on for awhile, but we'll see you two in the morning..." she said with a wink and closed the door.

Finally, the young couple was alone. Gourry and Lina smiled at each other for a minute then spontaniously kissed long and hard. Ending up on the bed Lina said to Gourry "Did I ever tell you that I figured it out, why you seem less brainy than some other guys." "Eh? Why's that?" asked Gourry, not sure where things were going. "It's simple." she replied. "The reason you have half the brain of some guys is because you have ten times the heart, and you are so full with that, that there isn't room for a bigger brain. He, he, listen Gourry, I'll take heart over brain anytime!" "Oh, okay, I think..." replied Gourry, trying to work out if he had been complemented or insulted. Lina put an end to that by whispering "I'm ready..." "For what ever works?" asked Gourry with a smile. Lina replied with a kiss. And of course, just like the first time, it worked,  
wonderfully... 


	24. xChapter23

Chapter 23 xxxxxxxxxx Lina and Gourry woke up on their own time. When finally they were ready to get up Lina rang the little bell. Almost instantly the door opened and Trina entered. "Oh Lady Lina, and Sir Gourry, it was so lovely yesterday, only they wouldn't let me serve you or anything." Lina laughed. "Trina" she said "when we get back home I am going to have to break you of this serving fixation." "But, I want to be the one, Lady, I like being your maid." the girl said, a bit pouty. Lina replied "Trina, you can serve me to your hearts content when we get home, and when your heart is no longer content we will set you up somewhere where it is. But for now, we are on a trip, and right now in Zefielia I have family and admirers who are falling all over themselves to do the same thing. There is no stopping it, but we will leave to go to Seirune in a little while for the Princess Amilia's wedding, and I don't think there will be much attention on me then. So you will be in your glory. Meanwhile, my sister and my mother whom I haven't seen in years are just trying to make up for some lost time. Don't worry, okay? Enjoy this as a vacation.

And to make it up to you, you can help me this morning getting dressed." Trina curtsied and went to work. "Gourry, I don't know how I'll get used to this to tell you the truth, all my life I did my own morning care, now I have someone who wants to help me." Lina laughed. "Well, enjoy!" winked Gourry back."Oh I will, hey, thanks for getting promoted to Knight okay?" she said. "For you, anything" he said back. Soon enough they were ready and went down to find..., lunch was being served? "My my! Something must have tired you two out last night!" said Naga with a wink. "Yeah, he, he, he! You could say that!" replied Lina. "Alas, no sheet this time..." Lina's mom, and Luna, who had been there as well laughed at this, while Gourry did a slow collapse into the chair. Women... "Hey, it's a chick thing, don't sweat it." said Zel soothingly as he took a sip of tea. Gourry joined him with one of his own.

In due course the events of yesterday were digested, and rehashed, laughed, and cried over, again. Then, more painfully, the plans started. Tommorrow was departure day, for Seirune, even though the wedding was many days off there were things that had to be prepared, and it was a royal wedding after all. Lina made sure she spent as much time as she could that day with her mom and sister, and her dad, and her niece and brother in law. She didn't know when she'd see them again, probably not before Luna had given birth to a baby that didn't even show yet. Lina prodded herself once or twice wondering if she was that way yet. Oh well, it would happen when ready. There were lots of happy, and some sad tears as the day wore on and the family crammed as much time together as possible into the day as they could.

Gourry too was spending time with his family. There were perhaps more smiles and less tears as befits a son rather than a daughter, but the Gabrievs prepared as well to lose their child again to the world, only this time knowing where he would be and how to reach him. His mother and his father both told Gourry they were proud of him, and his brother admited that he was proud that Gourry was his brother. His cousins said their bit, a few of the girls joked, at least, it was thought they were joking, that if he ever tired of Lina he could always come home, but Gourry so plainly didn't like that, that the joking stopped fairly quickly. Then Gourry, at Lina's bidding, brought out the locket with Melirune, and Rowdy in cameo.

"This is a gift Melirune once gave to Rowdy and which our family returned, thinking she'd want it. She found it a sweet gesture and so kept it to not upset his grieving family, but now, with her passing, and the breaking of the Gabrievs' links to the elves, she wanted it returned to us as an heirloom forever. Please keep it safe, it is beautiful, but I agree with Lina, it belongs to all the Gabrievs' and I don't think we should keep it hidden away from the family in Westhold." His mother took it, reverendly almost. "I will write a letter thanking the elves of Mispross island for their gift and say goodby to them for their long friendship. I expect they will not answer, but it will make them happy to think we remembered them." she said. The talk centered for a bit on the long history of the Gabrievs with the elves, and how it was perhaps fitting that it was due to Melirune waiting for a last chance to bless Lina and see who of Rowdy's decendants had been found to be the worthy one for her. Gourry said he would do all in his power to always be worthy of that honour.

His parents expressed their pride in him, and the talk moved on again to other matters, as talk always will do. Long into the night the families kept talking with their soon to depart loved ones, and by the end of it all the couple were back together with both families around them. That there was friendship between the family Inverse, and the clan Gabriev was plain enough. So it was with heavy lids, but lighter hearts that Gourry and Lina finally tucked into bed for their last night in Zefielia. They didn't say much, the good byes had a bittersweet effect on them, but they held each other with a special tenderness and were happy just to be together. And so they slept.

The next morning saw them off in their coach again, now traveling in the train with the King and Queen of Westhold, the Crown Prince of Seirune, and Crown Princess and her fiancee too, and a whole company of guards, from both kingdoms, including the six that had been with Gourry and Lina, who were absorbed back into the formation. They rode on through the day, stopping for a picnic along the way. Here Zel and Lina recounted with Naga how they had brought Queen "Grace" safe home to Seirune after some daring feats of flight. "I have never been so exhausted in my life!" exclaimed Lina as she finished her tale of the flight. "How on earth did you levitate for so long?" asked an amazed Amilia. "The power amplifier bracelets helped of course, and sheer determination. I was not letting the Queen get into danger. But I still think you could have told me who you were right off the bat." replied Lina, turning her attention back to Naga.

"In hindsight, maybe yes." admitted Naga. "But we were unsure, in a small panic, and I didn't know how you'd feel about me. Besides, the look on your face when I whipped the veil off was priceless." she ended, laughing merrily. "Yeah, well, what can I say?" said Lina with a bit of a chuckle too. The Queen was right, in hindsight there was much that was funny about the whole thing. And they had gotten through safely, that was the main thing. And so, on to Seirune.

Lina was handed a part in Amilia's wedding party and Gourry was a groom's man for Zelgadiss, so they had to rehearse some of the parts, but for the most of the time it was just sitting around and hanging out one last time in their old stomping ground. Oh yes, there'd be visits, state and otherwise, but never again to just walk here and there as they were used to. But, more awaited than was being given up, and no regrets were felt, just a desire to say goodbye to the life that was. Long walks and lovers rendevous were often enough indulged in, even though most of them were married.

Naga delighted in seeing her old haunts again, and having her King beside her and her baby snuggled up next to her as she gazed out at the harvest and fall time beauty of her birthplace. "By now our people will have the harvest in and stored and the bleak weather before the snow will be appearing." said the King one day when they were all taking in the fall colours. "How rich your land must be to have this extra time." "Rich? Oh yes indeed." said Phil, who was playing with his grandson while he had the chance. The little lad was definitely responding now to people and smiled and laughed often at his grandfather's antics, even reaching out a chubby little hand now and again to touch, usually by grabbing, and yes, pulling painfully, on something. And laughing as the adult of the moment grimaced in pain.

"Strong little gaffer!" Phil declared after rescuing his moustache from one such tug. "He, he, well, he has only the best food, he should be!" smirked King Alfred looking sidelong at his Queen, as he rubbed his own beard in unconcious memory of similar attention from his son. Of course, he was still being breast fed, by his own mother too. "But of course!" she replied with a smile. "Nothing but the best for my child!" "Well, if you are the best we will have to send for you when I give birth then!" teased her younger sister. Naga gave her a look, and Amilia stuck her tongue out. "It's because they missed each other in their childhood." said Phil with a sigh... Other days had more formal talks, matters of state and of trade, even regularising the currency as both kingdoms had different weights and measures that they used for dealing in gold and the like. Most of the work was done by assistants, but the presence of the two monarchs let things be quickly assented to without the usual hassle of messengers and ambasadors. And so the days passed, too fast and too slow, all at once.

Finally, the great day dawned. Lina was up before the sun, though, given that it was fall it was not as hard to do as it would have been in the summer. Still, it was a big day and she just wasn't going to sleep anymore. Of course, this ment Gourry didn't get to sleep in either, but Lina found a unique way to wake him up, and he really didn't mind in the least. Trina was as eager to do her bit as ever and the three of them had a good morning and a private breakfast. They dressed as far as they could, and eventually the call to action came. Gourry and Lina had to separate for the ceremony, but, such was friendship. Trina stayed with Lina as long as she could but she too had to eventually go out and just be a spectator. The wedding party was finally ready. Amilia was obviously nervous and excited, and perhaps a tad bit impatient. "Stupid formalities!" she muttered. "Eh, Amilia, it's okay, it's not much longer now." soothed Lina. "Easy for you to say, Miss "I get two anniversaries"" growled Amilia back, but the teasing in her voice couldn't be missed.

Lina laughed, as did the rest of the party, and Lina came back with "Yes, but at least you and Zel are never going to get a divorce. Be happy Amilia! It's wonderful, as someone in the know once told me." she concluded, remembering her talk with Naga, or back then, "Queen Grace", on the road down to Seirune to start the whole summer off. "I'm okay." said Amilia. "I just wish daddy would show up and take me out to get this started." Even as she spoke a fanfare heralded the fact that Zelgadiss was leaving to take his coach ride to the shrine where the wedding would take place. "Courage, dear Amilia." said one of the wedding party. It was less than five minutes later that Prince Phil himself opened the doors and gave his daughter a big hug. Naturally, the serving ladies were in a tizz, they'd have to smooth out the wrinkles again, but Phil could not resist giving his daughter one last daddy/daughter hug. After all, this day was probably the most important one in her life, even her coronation, hopefully many, many years in the future, would be affected by this day. "I love you my baby." he said in a rarely heard (in public) tender voice.

"I love you too daddy. And thank you for being my wonderful daddy!"Amilia gushed. Phil stepped back and had a good look at her. "Your mother would have been so proud of you." he said with a warm and tender smile. Lina had seen Phil in a lot of different ways, somehow, she had never seen him look so, well, human, if that was the right word. She thought of her own daddy she had just left, and she was happy and sad all at once. But, this wasn't her day, so she took a deep breath and refocused on Amilia. Now they were shuffling out to the waiting carriages. Lina was impressed by the goldwork, but it struck her that she was impressed by the artwork far more than the value, and she smiled to herself to realise she too was changing, growing up perhaps? The women were packed carefully in to the waiting carriages, Amilia was with her father in a private one, of course, and off they went.

The day was beautiful and sunny, couldn't be better, but the wind, light at the moment, had a promise of rain, and of cold. Amilia was getting married as fast as she could, but still cutting it very close to the edge of the last good weather of the year. Well, as long as today worked. The carriage, which was open to public view, wound its way along the streets. Lina realised they were taking a somewhat circular route to get to the shrine, oh well, the people wanted to see. Soon enough they got there. The party disembarked and assembled. Up at the altar the high priest was waiting with a cohort of shrine youths and maidens, and beside them was Zelgadiss and his party. Even at a distance Lina could tell that the chimera was playing it cool despite his nervousness. Good old Zel. He was very consistent. Amilia ought to be set for life.

The Maidens started to sing a hymn of blessing and the party moved forward with Phil taking Amilia up the central aisle. They stopped for a second at the foot of the stairs to turn and bow to the special royal guests, the King and Queen of Westhold, who bowed back, and then up the stairs, and Amilia's arm was transfered to Zelgadiss. Lina had to bite her tongue not to laugh, Zel was so nervous he looked downright cute. But not as cute as that handsome blond swordsman standing next to him, mmmmmm, she'd take him home any day. Gourry too was more inclinde to look to his wife than to Amilia, though he wasn't unmoved by the Princess' beauty on this day. He felt happy for Zel and Amilia, somehow, they deserved each other. In a good way of course, um, err, oh, better stop thinking about this...

The ceremony was similar enough to Lina's. The prayers, the blessings, the call for impediments, no one said anything this time, of course. Then the long drawn out oath taking, including some extra bits related to Zelgadiss taking on a royal title. Lina smiled at the obey part, she would be interested in seeing who obeyed who, especially in later years when Amilia was crowned. Zel might be crowned King at that time, but everyone was aware that Amilia would be the power. Oh well, it didn't matter, if they were happy. Finally the big moment, up went the veil, Amilia practically lept up to kiss Zel and then they were married!

Back down the aisle, the couple now took the royal coach as Phil joined his older daughter and her husband in their coach. The trip back through the town, by a different route went well. They ended up at a memorial that was dedicated to fallen soldiers of Seirune, which had been freshly dedicated to the fallen of that summer's great war. Phil laid a wreath of flowers in gratitude, as did the King and Queen of Westhold. Then Amilia made her own memorial. With genuine tears in her eyes she laid her bridal wreath on the memorial and thanked the soldiers for saving the kingdom. She said she hoped her wedding would let them rest in the sure knowledge that the kingdom they had loved enough to die for was alive and well and carrying on as it should, that their loved ones were safe, thanks to them. The people would remember that act for a long time, Seirune was one of the few kingdoms where the people took their monarchs to heart.

The party then ended back in the palace, and, after a few appearances on a balcony while the people cheered, the wedding was over and the party began. Again with the eating, and the partying, this time no ridiculous questions, but a lot of speeches, and toasts, again in water as Amilia had decided she too didn't want her sister exposed to temptation. Naga whispered to her husband "We have to go home before I singlehandedly ruin viniculture in this part of the world." The King laughed. In the course of the day, for many different reasons, so did everyone. And the dancing was wondeful, but Lina was secretly proud of her own wedding dance, her husband had writen his own song from the heart. Of course Zel did write poetry, but that was for Amilia. Finally, the party wore to its end and all saw the new couple off to bed. Then they drifted to their own beds. And slept.

In the morning, Zel and Amilia were very sleepy, and very happy. There was some teasing, but a lot of congratulations over the breakfast, then, Phil had arranged a honeymoon of sorts, as the new couple were sent off to bear messages of friendship to neighbouring kingdoms, a ceremonial job designed to let them have an excuse to meet and greet the neighbouring kings and queens as a couple. They would be wined, dined, and feted untill they were sick of it and glad to get back home in about two weeks, but they would have glorious time to themselves too. So, it wasn't so bad.

After they were off Naga put her son in her father's arms. He was definitely feeling alone now, both of his daughters were married and off, and he had no wife left to be with. He smiled and hugged little Prince Arthur for a long time. The rest of the day was spent with Naga and her father being together, doing some long over due one on one. Lina and Gourry kept to the background, and even King Alfred kept to the rear somewhat, it was definitely daddy/daughter time. And they had been away for a long time too, they had to leave the next day to go home. Lina realised this was it, the end of her rambling life was today, as she and Gourry would ride back with their King and Queen, as loyal subjects. The new life was dawning. But it wasn't unexpected. She just hugged Goury a lot and smiled.

The next day they all loaded up and the small train of carriages left on the north road to go home. There was one treat, the King and Queen had agreed to Luna's request, and arranged to stay overnight at Lina's sister's place again,and Lina had one last evening and morning to tell her family about the wedding and to say a last goodbye. Then a long, but rather restfull trip ensured where Gourry and Lina got to finally have the King and Queen to themselves. Well, themselves and the court officials who had been part of the King's party of course, somehow business never stopped for a King. A strong friendship was was made all the stronger on that journey. Finally,a triumphant return and a welcome home from all the familiar people. To think most of them had been strangers a few short months ago.

And, perhaps most wonderfully, Erik had taken the time alone to ask, and Sylphiel had answered, and so one more wedding was in the works, though this would be mostly an internal affair, still there was a good chance Amilia and Zel might come up for this one. Lina had a free moment with Sylphiel and gave the gentle girl an enthusiastic hug. "I'm so happy for you Sylphiel. You really do deserve a wonderful life and Prince Erik is a wonderful man!" Sylphiel couldn't stop beaming her happiness. Lina asked "Do you forgive me now for Gourry?" Sylphiel couldn't help but laugh. "I neve held it against you Lina. He knew where his heart was and went there. You are the one for him, and I am happy for you. I want to thank you for saving me from that Xellos creature too Lina. He was, well, very polite, but very creepy, and I couldn't stop him from using me to try to get to whatever the Queen's secret is. I am glad you had the strength to do what you had to, and I was happy to think you loved me enough to kill me if you had to to save me from him. Oh dear, I suppose this sounds silly."

"No, no it doesn't Sylphiel. To be posessed by a Mazoku, I can't see how death is worse." Lina replied. She then went on "I was more worried about how you collapsed in tears after we did the power transfer, because you didn't realise how much I loved Gourry." Sylphiel giggled and took Lina s hands."Oh Lina, let me explain. When I sent all my power in to you it took a lot of my positive energy, and left me a negative wreck, controlled for several seconds by all the negative, down emotions a person has in her. I knew long ago how you felt about Gourry, I figured it out during that Clair Bible search we were on all those years ago. But I had no positive emotions and precious little logic left right after, so I collapsed. In truth I don't fully remember what I said, but you must believe me, that spell leaves the giver feeling like she's been punched emotionally in the stomach. You know, where you can't breath, and all you feel is body filling pain? That sort of effect. So, please don't worry, and I am sorry I upset you." Lina leaned forward and gave the taller girl a kiss on the cheek. "Well, I feel better then. And hey, if I hadn't taken Gourry off your hands, you'd have had no room for Erik!" The two women laughed and talked about happy days to come.  
Finally, the day ended, and the next one came. At breakfast Gourry and Lina met their adviser, who had come to announce all was in readiness, and to take them to their new home and duties. Trina had known he was coming and had been in her glory making sure they were all packed and ready. So came the moment, with many hugs and tears, when Lina finally set out with Gourry to go to a place she had never had in many years. She was going to her own home. And when, after a long day's ride, as the sun was setting, they finally rolled into the court yard she started to weep with joy. All her dreams and even some of her fantasies, things she had never expected to really achieve, were all fulfilled.

At first Gourry was worried something was wrong, yes, men do tend to think a woman's tears have to mean there is something amiss, but she soon made him to know everything was right. They stood before the opened doors, ready to go in. Gourry turned and said "There is one last marriage custom I get to perform Lina, it's common enough in Elemikia, though I don't know if it is so common in the rest of the world. I get to hold you and carry you over the threshold of our new house. It's for good luck, I think." "Well, you can do that Gourry, as long as you promise that once you have hold of me, you'll never let me go." Lina said, smiling up at him. Gourry scooped her up and said "With all that I have, with all that I am, and with all that I ever will be, that I promise you, Lina!" She lifted her head and kissed him long and hard, and as she did so he stepped forward bearing them over the threshold and into the rest of their lives... 


	25. yEpilogue

Epilogue xxxxxxxx

It was a night with a lovely full moon at the end of spring and Lina was standing on her balcony, taking in the breeze which was perfumed with the flowers that had opened over the past few weeks. The events of the past year were going through her mind, and she smiled as she snuggled into Gourry's arms as he hugged her from behind. "Just think!" she said. "In another month it will be one whole year since we were at that cruddy little inn in Zephielia, where we had our misunderstanding and you left. Oh what a year this has been, but maybe it had to be that way to bring us to this time and place." "Has it been so long already?" he asked dreamily as he kissed her hair. "Doesn't seem like it I know." she replied.

But their year had been full enough. Sylphiel's wedding was a fairly simple affair by royal standards but the young couple couldn't have been happier. And of course Zel and Amilia did come to visit for that event. The wedding was timed to match with the midwinter festival, a great time of feasting and celebrating was had by all, and it was an affair where laughter was more common than speech it seemed, thought there was lots of that and of song and dance and, well, happiness in general. The year had also seen Lina and Naga start to work on the Tablets of Thoth, and, though they had a long way to go, the two minds working together, laughing together, even fighting together, had started to make some progress on understanding the mysteries of the magical device better. Of course Naga got her powers back, and so the great fight to finally settle it all between them was on, um, when they could find the time that is, somehow it hadn't happened yet...

Suddenly, Lina gave a start. "What's the matter?" asked a concerned Gourry. Lina didn't answer, instead she tipped her head back and kissed her husband. And as she did so she moved one of his hands down so Gourry could feel.

The baby was kicking! 


End file.
